


Critical Moments, Volume One, A Naruto Fanfic

by Adamalton



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, Drama, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Growing Up, Love, Namikaze Minato Lives, NaruHina - Freeform, Parenthood, Teamwork, Uzumaki Kushina Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 73,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29162502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adamalton/pseuds/Adamalton
Summary: Hours before Naruto is born, Minato has a frightening premonition and keeps Kakashi on duty as a bodyguard. In one decision, the fate of the shinobi world changes forever. Having survived Obito's attack, Minato and Kushina struggle to raise Naruto while balancing their official duties. Naruto also struggles with the challenge of being a Hokage's son while pursing his dream of following in his father's footsteps.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hiashi/Hyuuga Hiashi's Wife, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya/Tsunade (Naruto), Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Kudos: 45





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s notes:  
> The events contained within exist in an alternative timeline to events based on a few critical changes. While taking inspiration from the events of Naruto, many events and characters chronicled or referenced in the series will be altered significantly as a result.  
> This fanfiction contains some adult language and situations. I would not advise allowing anyone under the age of 13 to read this.  
> As with all fanfiction works, this is a work of fanart strictly created for personal enjoyment. I in no way have right to the characters or stories of Naruto or Boruto. The rights are retained by the series creators and publishers. 
> 
> This work is a re-print of a story I posted on FFN on October 10, 2019. Due to editing over time, there may be subtle differences between the two works if read side by side. (I am in the process of migrating this, so it may be a while before I have everything uploaded)

Chapter One

Lord Hokage Minato Namikaze sat in his office sipping tea as he stared out the window at Konoha. The fall air had turned cold and gloomy in the blink of an eye. Compared to the brilliant week prior, this week had the feeling of grim harbinger of a long, cold winter to come. 

Misty rain clung to the window pain as he noticed a familiar figure dressed in black approaching. Kakashi, one of his elite ANBU, approached like a shadow flitting between raindrops. Minato felt alternating pangs of relief and apprehension as the young ninja approached. Kakashi, one of his students before being ANBU, had been through a horrific roller coaster of losing his father to suicide and losing fellow student and love interest, Rin, over the past few years. 

Minato had considered re-assigning Kakashi out of the ANBU when the retired Third Hokage requested Minato let him serve as bodyguard to Kushina, Minato’s pregnant wife. For the past nine months, he had served with great distinction, protecting Kushina and the baby without so much as disturbing their shadow. The few scuffles that had happened were handled discretely and without any disruption to the otherwise normal pregnancy. 

He took another sip of tea. By the end of tonight, the arrangement would hopefully come to an end. _No more body guards, no more secure locations, no more separations for security reasons; we can finally be family without the pain in the ass precautions._ Minato’s relief was short-lived. Tonight would be damn dangerous. Kushina was a living prison to Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. Kushina was the most recent in a family line that had kept the Fox Demon imprisoned safely for years. Even with such ability, the act of giving birth would severely strain the seal holding Nine-Tails in place. 

Minato pushed his worries aside. The pregnancy was going fine. There had been no reports of strange or suspect activity anywhere in the village for weeks now. They had move Kushina to a secure location outside the village with a full staff of midwives and a dedicated protection detail of ANBU. _Nothing is going to happen! You’re just nervous about being a daddy! Everyone gets like this the first time; even Lord Hiashi looks like he’s about to have kittens._

The thought of the normally stone-faced head of the Hyūga clan pacing like a nervous wreck caused Minato to crack his first real smile all day. His old friend’s young wife, Akemi, was due only a few months from now. Minato fondly remembered catching Hiashi as he fainted at the surprise reveal he and Kushina helped Akemi plan. Despite his best effort, he could feel his lips curl into a complete grin. 

Kakashi’s arrival in the office brought him back to reality. “Lord Hokage!” he bowed, waiting for Minato to return the bow. Minato replied in kind, noticing that Kakashi only began to rise once he had fully completed the bow. 

“Kakashi, for the millionth time,” he started, “this is an informal assignment, no need for ANBU formality.” Minato raised his hands as if calming a tailed-beast. “You’re practically going to be an uncle in a day or two!”

“More like a few hours, sir,” Kakashi spoke breathlessly.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. _My son is going to be born tonight!_ “In that case, I think it’s about time for me close up shop and head over! How is Kushina?”

“First contractions started about the time I left – too intense to be another false labor.”

“If you ever give up being ANBU,” Minato laughed, “You could make a heck of a midwife!” Even Kakashi cracked a smile at the joke. Both men had undergone birth training in the event Kushina went into labor suddenly. 

“Well, shall we get going then?” Kakashi asked.

“Kakashi, you’ve been watching Kushina every day for practically all nine months! Nothing is going to happen!” Minato exclaimed, feeling every bit reassured by his words, “Why don’t you take the night off?”

Shock stretched out on Kakashi’s face, “Lord Hokage, are you sure that is…” Kakashi hesitated, clearly not trying to sound irreverent, “wise?”

“Kakashi, is there any reason the other ANBU on duty tonight can’t provide adequate security on top of the protective seals already in place?”

“No,” he replied

“And has there been any suspect activity lately in the village?” Minato asked, confident the answer would be negative.

“No, not exactly…” Kakashi’s voice trailed off, suggesting not all was said.

“Not exactly?” Minato furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just,” Kakashi hesitated, “that’s just the thing. When she had that false labor last week, suddenly everything went dark. Even petty crime suddenly dried up for about a day or two.”

Minato let Kakashi’s suspicions crawl around in his skull. It made sense for things to be quiet; they were no longer at war. _Could the absence of activity be something trying to throw us off, lull us into complacency?_ Deep in his gut, Minato tried listening to his instincts, and they all said he and Kakashi were being distinctly paranoid. 

But a tiny flicker of concern burned within him, refusing to be extinguished. Minato wasn’t sure why, but he felt the flash of something he’d never understand. In a blink, he saw himself and Kushina lying dead. Their son would grow up, never knowing them, and the specter of Nine-Tails hung over the image of his yet to be born son.

“Lord Minato, are you all right?” Kakashi’s soft voice snapped him back to reality. However, the feeling in his chest remained – tightness. Minato’s breathing became laborious, and there was a sharp pain like he’d been impaled through his stomach. “Lord Hokage!!!” Kakashi yelled, his eyes growing wide.

As soon as it started, it ended. His breathing eased and the pain stopped. The cold terror haunting him from the vision remained. _My god, am I going to die tonight? Is Kushina! Naruto!_ Minato looked back at Kakashi. Minato didn’t believe in fate or pre-destiny. He also did not go back on his word, and he had promised to keep Kushina and their son safe in all circumstances. 

_If I’m being alarmist, then I’ll let Kakashi have the next week off._ “You know something, you’re right,” he regained his composure. “Maybe an extra set of eyes on overwatch is a good idea.”

“If you’re not comfortable,” Kakashi raised his hands in surrender.

“No, if there is even a remote chance you are right, then their best chance at attacking any of us will be in a few hours, when she can’t fight back, and I may be unable to as well.”

“Attacking the enemy when he is weakest,” Kakashi nodded, “It’s what I’d do.”

 _That’s comforting!_ “Look, if we’re wrong, I’ll give you an extended leave,” Minato said.

“And if I’m right?” Kakashi asked gravely.

“Then we do our best!” Minato nodded, “It’s all we can do. A ninja never gives up!” Minato walked to the coat rack near the door. “Come on, we have a baby to deliver!”


	2. Two

Chapter Two

Kakashi found himself a high vantage point in a tree that offered a clear view of the safehouse and surrounding area. No one could approach on foot without being seen. Everything lay still, almost supernaturally so. A sudden gust of cold autumn wind chilled cut like a shuriken. He should have worn a heavier outfit, but there wasn’t time. There was barely time for him and Lord Minato to stop at the cemetery to pay respects to Rin and Obito – his fallen comrades and Minato’s former students. 

Nothing had felt right in the world since losing them both. Kakashi still had nightmares daily, watching Obito crushed under a boulder, Rin expiring in his arms. All the while, his father offered him a sword – a way out. Had Minato not offered this assignment, he expected his landlord would have found him one morning – impaled through the abdomen with a sword. There were still times when the thought creeped out of its hiding hole. Kakashi could remember it calling to him, _“The world would be a better place if you’d never existed. Rin and Obito would still be here and happy! You can still make up for it by dying!”_

Kakashi shook his head violently against the horrific train of thought. _Dammit to hell not again, not tonight!_ Kakashi refocused, there damn well could be someone out there right now, watching him. Maybe someone was spying a gap in their armor, looking for a way to kill Minato, or Kushina, or the baby, or hell, even Lord Third’s wife! _Keep your cool; they are depending on you. You know something is up!_

He again surveyed the surrounding area. A half dozen ANBU were walking the grounds, all highly trained ninja. Each one fully capable of guarding life or taking it. Kakashi didn’t like they were out in the open, their presence announced. A true ninja hid in shadow and struck from the shadow. Even on night patrol, it was unwise to be in the open – darkness offered only so much concealment. 

A thousand times since arriving at this location this morning he had run this scenario. The only cover a potential assailant could reliably use was the nearby woods. This tree was at the edge of it. To even get close to the compound without openly announcing yourself, you had to sneak through here. Unless you were insanely powerful, it was akin to attempted suicide for any one person to take on six ANBU. 

Even if you survived a frontal assault, it would alert Lord Minato. By all accounts, taking him on in an open one-on-one battle _was_ suicide. During the war, the enemy had issued a flee-on-sight warning Minato had been so powerful. No man know could kill him in a straight up fight. 

_However, distract him and attack from the shadows, and even Lord Fourth is only flesh and blood._ Kakashi couldn’t think of any circumstance more distracting that having a wife in labor and needing to reseal a tailed-beast inside her the second it was over. _Minato is in for a very, very long night!_

For long hours, nothing happened. At first, he heard a highly unpleasant sound coming from the house, but Kakashi quickly deduced it was Kushina suffering from labor pain. The contractions sounded like they were getting closer. Pretty soon, she’d be pushing will all her might, and the next generation of ninja would soon enter the world. 

Something made Kakashi’s left eye burn, searing hot discomfort. The Sharringan Obito had gifted him in his last moments of life had never activated on its own, not without extreme provocation. This was something he had never experienced or even heard of. When he was able to focus again, Kakashi noticed a most disturbing sight – two of the six ANBU guarding the house were face down in the dirt, large pools of blood expanding beneath them. _Not possible!!!_

Another two of the elite ninjas rushed toward their fallen comrades. He didn’t know why, but Kakashi resisted the urge to jump into the fray. A brief flash of something crossed his vision, and the two collapsed to the ground dead. The remaining two remained at their post, adopting defensive stances. The one left of the back door when rigid and fell forward, a large shuriken sticking out of his back. The last one turned in horror toward his dead comrade. A shadowy figure materialized in the ninja’s face, slashing a silvery sword across the man’s neck. The last guard’s head rolled backward as the man’s body fell forward. 

Kakashi saw the hellish demon materialize from shadow. The creature wore all black, except for an elaborate swirl pattern mask the featured only a right eye hole. For as foreign as the creature seemed, Kakashi knew it was a man, and something about him seemed eerily familiar. He felt like he was looking at a twisted reflection of himself. “All too easy,” the masked man said. 

_My god, the Sharirngan, I can understand him!_ Kakashi also felt on a genetic level, if he approached this enemy, he’d join the other ANBU lying dead on the ground. Anyone who could take out six ANBU in the blink of an eye could kill him without batting an eyelash. _Easily as powerful as Minato! SHIT!!!_

The figure forced open the back door to the house – apparently oblivious to his presence. This would be his one chance. The target hadn’t noticed him. If he could get the drop on this guy and pin him down, Minato might be roused enough to take him down. Kakashi knew full well doing this would probably get him killed. It didn’t matter; if he died and Minato and Kushina lived, it would be a good death. He would see Rin and Obito again. He could see his father again. _It’s a good day to die._

* * *

Kushina Uzumaki ground her teeth as she suppressed a scream. In her lifetime, she had endured bullying, physical punishment while training, and the weight of restraining the Nine-Tailed Fox. Naruto was kicking, frantically trying to escape her body. She could also feel Nine-Tails stirring. Her seal on him was weakening by the second. 

Another searing contraction, and this time, she couldn’t stifle a scream. “Just a little more, I can see his head!” the midwife called out. Lord Third’s wife was concentrating her chakra, trying to maintain the seal, “Just a little more Kushina! You’re doing great! Any man would be dead right now!”

The contraction struck like lightning. Again, she screamed, this time tears spilled freely as she pushed with every damn thing she had – full piss and vinegar. Kushina gripped the handles on birthing table with enough force to feel the mount warp. Kushina heard another scream. _No, not screaming, crying!!!_ Baby Naruto cried as he slipped from her body. Her head flopped back on the pillow. Several deep breaths and cold relief washed over her. _My god, I did it! We did it, Minato!_

Naruto’s cries were music to her ears, enough to temporarily drown out any worry in the world. She felt euphoric. Her body tingled, feeling a little drunk by the magic of the moment. “Now time to suppress Kyuubi,” Minato called. All was well.

The magic shattered as Lord Third’s wife and her assistant collapsed, choking gurgling noises coming from both of them. “Minato!” Fear gripped her, and she felt the seal holding Nine-Tails collapsing again. 

“Step away from the jinchuriki or the child dies!” a deathly, malicious voice called. _Naruto! My baby!!!_ Kushina felt the seal on her almost fail. It took everything she had just to keep it inside her. 

“Hold on, let’s just be calm!” Minato tried placating the man holding Naruto, holding a shuriken to his face. Kushina’s blood turned to ice water. If she moved to help Minato, Nine Tails would get free. If she did nothing, her son might die!

The masked man threw the baby into the air, looking to impale the child. A flash of something crossed her vision. Like divine intervention, it moved fast and struck without mercy. Another black-clad figure materialized behind the masked man, his left eye glowing a hellish red. In a blur, the masked man was gripping the left side of his neck as she caught the image of Kakashi digging a kunai into the man’s shoulder carving a bloody streak up to the man’s neck to the angle of the jaw. 

Kakashi hadn’t even withdrawn the blade when Minato landed near her, baby Naruto in hand. Any relief was short lived by the crackling noise of explosive tags stuck to the blanket shrouding the baby. “Minato! Naruto!!!” she screamed. 

Minato flung the blanket away, grabbing her. In a flurry, they were outside of the building, the concussive blast followed them. Kushina felt something hot, angry in gut. As she landed on her back, she looked down to see an angry splinter of burning wood impaling her in the abdomen. _Oh god!!!_ The black marks began to spread outward from the injury. The already weak seal was damaged even worse now. As hard as she tried, summoning her chakra to the area to plug the gap was impossible. _Oh god! It’s going to get loose!!!_

“THUNDER GOD TECHNIQUE!!!” Minato’s voice split the night air. Minato smash into the wounded masked man, sending him elsewhere. The immediate danger gone, Minato rushed back her way. He immediately placed his hands on her belly, trying to reseal or suppress Nine-Tails, but the beast’s chakra was spreading outward from her center mass. “SHIT!!!” he shouted, taking off his jacket and pressing it around the large splinter impaling her. She could see blood streaming from a gash in his forehead, and several of his locks of spikey hair had been singed in the explosion.

Nine-Tails stirred again, searing pain flooded her gut every bit as bad as giving birth. “My love, kill me, let me take Kyuubi with me!” she pleaded. 

“Not happening!” he shook his head, “KAKASHI!!!” he screamed.

The young ninja, their savior appeared. He looked horrible, like he’d seen a ghost. He muttered “Obito… Obito…” clearly shell shocked. He had mild burns on the right side of his face, and his normally immaculate uniform was tattered and torn, blood glistening in the moonlight from unseen injuries. 

Minato picked up the baby, thrusting Naruto to Kakashi. “Kakashi! I know this is a real bad time, but you need to take Naruto! Meet us at the hospital!!!”

“Obito,” Kakashi cried, “he’s alive! This is all my fault!!!”

“KAKASHI!!!” Minato roared, “There’s no time to dwell on that! You do this and any dishonor on your father and family will be erased!!!” He placed the baby in Kakashi’s arms. “GO!!!” Kakashi nodded weakly and disappeared from her sight.

Kushina heard Naruto’s cries as Kakashi vanished into the night toward Konoha. As his cries faded in the distance, she felt her own self fading. _Minato, please… for all our sakes!_ She lost herself trying to restrain the monster threatening to claw its way out through her stomach.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Being that Hinata's mother was unnamed in the series, I chose the name Akemi Hyūga. She features prominently throughout this and several other works of mine.

Chapter Three

Minato paced rapidly forward and back in the hospital waiting room. Lady Tsunade had Kushina in the operating room, working frantically. Meanwhile he, the most powerful warrior in the village, could only pace back and forth, praying that his wife did not die. “Lord Hokage,” Kakashi spoke softly as he entered the waiting area, gently cradling baby Naruto in his arms. Kakashi, like himself, was covered in cuts and burns, but at least neither of them had been seriously injured.

“Thank you, Kakashi!” Minato felt himself break down into tears. Kakashi thankfully guided him down onto a couch in the waiting room. Tears wouldn’t stop. His wife was dying, and it was his fault! _Goddammit!!! Why the hell did I not insist on a larger ANBU detachment!!! This was supposed to be the birth of my son, not a fucking combat mission!!!_

He stared at Kakashi, feeling the same horrific sensation in his guts. Obito, his student, Kakashi’s friend and teammate, had tried to kill them. He had tried to free Nine-Tails! Had Kakashi not been there, the whole village might be leveled right now! The ANBU and military police were now fully mobilized by now, and the village locked down. Using the Thunder God Technique, he had sent Obito on a long, hopefully fatal journey into a distant mountain range. Even so, Minato wasn’t foolish enough to assume they’d seen the last of him. They would have to be ready once this crisis ended.

“Sir, I must insist we take the baby to the nursery!” the nurse chided the two scarred men.

“NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!!” Minato roared in the young lady’s face. Baby Naruto began to cry. He shouldn’t have done it, but he did not want his son separated from them until this mess was sorted. Even then, he was never sure if he’d want his boy out of his sight.

“It’s all, right,” a calm, familiar voice called. Akemi and Hiashi Hyūga entered the waiting room. Her baby bump seemed to have a life of its own as she approached them. “Easy Hinata, you’ll get to meet him soon enough!” she rubbed her stomach.

“Lady Hyūga, perhaps you can talk sense into Lord Fourth! His son needs to be in a nursery!” the nurse begged

“Nonsense,” she said, taking the baby into her arms from Kakashi. A quick check of the baby and she nodded, “He’s perfectly stable. Please send a fresh blanket,” she hugged the baby boy. The nurse bowed, respecting the fact that Akemi was a trained midwife. As the nurse took off, Akemi sat down as her own child began kicking again. Naruto became strangely calm, and the unborn baby ceased kicking. “It would seem they like each other,” she smiled.

“Lord Fourth,” Hiashi dropped his normally calm expression, “We came the second we heard. How is Kushina!”

“She’s in with Tsunade right now!” Minato choked back tears. His friend hugged him.

“You convinced Tsunade to come out of retirement?” Hiashi said, amazed.

“She said she couldn’t let her cousin die, especially not with her son just having been born,” Minato cleared snot and tears. He couldn’t believe this was happening. 

The doors from the operating room swung open. Tsunade’s scrubs were covered in blood. She looked haunted – the same look Kakashi had when the blast from the explosive tags had blown away Obitio’s mask. Even more unnerving, Kakashi had damn near decapitated Obito with a kunai, and he still kept coming at them. Minato had seen some damn weird things in the Third Shinobi War, but he’d never seen _anyone_ survive a wound like that. 

“I have bad news and really bad news,” Tsunade dipped her head.

“Oh god!” Minato felt his cheeks turn red. His wife had died. Minato opened his mouth to speak.

“She’s alive, but we have a very serious situation!” Tsuande raised her hand to quiet him. “The splinter caused internal bleeding. I’ve got it under control, but her chakra network is badly injured!”

Minato knew the implications. If Kushina recovered, her ability to use chakra might never be normal again. More immediately concerning, her ability to hold Nine-Tails was probably severely degraded.

Tsunade confirmed his worst fears, “The seal holding Nine-Tails is irreparably damaged from the injury. We have thirty minutes tops before it gets free!” The stark look of horror on her face suggested real fear, not just for her patient’s life, either.

“Gets free!” Minato, Kakashi, and Hiashi all gasped in unison. Everyone sounded shit scared. They had brought a living, breathing weapon of mass destruction into the village in hopes of containing it, and now Minato would be responsible if anyone got hurt.

“At this point, the seal is so weak, if she dies, it will get free,” Tsunade sighed. “So, you see the crisis: holding Nine-Tails in her will kill her, but trying to removing it will also kill her. Either way, it gets free if she dies.”

“Does she know this?” Minato asked desperately. 

“Yes, I made it very clear when she asked me to euthanize her,” Tsunade didn’t meet Minato’s gaze. Kushina would put the needs of the village and her son above her own survival. 

“So, we have no means of killing Nine-Tails, and we have one that can contain Nine Tails,” Hiashi looked grim.

“Would she live if we did?” Minato needed to know. It would make all the difference in the next few minutes.

“Minato, you’re not compatible with Nine-Tails Chakra!” Tsunade chided him.

Minato closed his eyes, sighing in deep resignation. There was someone who was, but the implication of thinking it, much less saying it was horrific to put it mildly. He opened his eyes, seeing Kakashi lock eyes with him. He knew it too, and he nodded. “I’m not,” he turned to look at his baby son, the future jinchuriki of Nine-Tails, “but he is.” He had hoped that this day could have waited until Naruto was much old, but fate rarely allowed choosing favorable circumstance.

The dropping of a pin could be heard. Akemi looked horrified as she held baby Naruto. Instinctively, she held him close, protecting him. Tsunade said what everyone else was probably thinking, “Lord Fourth, are you fucking crazy! He’s only a baby!”

Battery acid filled his mouth. He said the hard truth all of them were overlooking, “Tsunade, I know it’s an awful idea! Dammit in hell, I know it’s a horrible idea! Naruto is our only chance to stop Nine-Tails! But you have a better suggestion, I’m all ears right now,” he stared coldly at her. “Anyone,” he gestured around.

“Lord Fourth is right,” Kakashi said in a calm, collected voice, “As hateful as binding Nine-Tails to Naruto is, we put the whole village at risk if we choose to do nothing!”

“Tsunade!” Minato asked slowly, his fire returning, “will she survive if we transfer Nine-Tails to Naruto?”

Tsuande shook her head in disgust, “No one has ever survived having a Tailed Beast withdrawn completely. I don’t know, maybe, Mito was much older and weaker when Mito transferred it to Kushina. I…I give even money, but I’d bet on her dying in the process.”

Initially, Minato was mortified by her words. However, he hoped it was her invoking her terrible luck with betting. _All you can do is hope._ “We should do this in the courtyard,” he said, “We may damage the building doing this inside.”

“I think we’re missing something damned important,” Hiashi cut in. “Nine-Tails’ Chakra is a handful for a fully prepared _adult_ to contain! How in the name of hell is a baby supposed to safely contain it! No one that young has ever successfully held a beast that powerful!”

“And we don’t know if Kushina can survive the trauma of having Nine-Tails removed fully…” Akemi said solemnly, running her fingers through Naruto’s blonde hair. Minato could tell she was leaving something unsaid, but he didn’t know what.

_Someone has to die then. It might as well be me. It’s my duty as a father!_ “I’ll use the Dead Demon Soul Consuming Seal to bind Kuruma,” Minato said, his determination growing. “It may save Kushina and limit the beast enough to contain it in Naruto.”

“Lord Hokage, with all due respect,” Kakashi shook his head, “that’s insane! Nine-Tails is still in Kushina! Even if Kushina survived you sealing Kyuubi, and I don’t think she would,” Kakashi hung his head. “You’d leave her a widow, your son an orphan, and your village without a protector!”

“There is another way,” Akemi Hyūga’s voice went from soft to firm. Everyone turned to look at her. Her dark eyes glowed with fire, “It’s risky, but I think it will work, without anyone dying,” she turned to Tsunade, “But I need to see Kushina first!”

“What’s the downside?” Tsunade asked. Minato knew this sounded too good to be true.

“That’s… complicated,” Akemi said as she got to her feet. Minato noticed the very pregnant woman rubbing her stomach. “But there isn’t time to explain! Please take me to her!” Minato couldn’t help but wonder what peril they were all about to enter.

* * *

Kushina felt the stretcher bounce as she regained consciousness. They were wheeling her outside, into the hospital’s courtyard. Kakashi stood guard with Hiashi and a handful of other ANBU as the medical-nin pulled the stretcher. “Minato…” her voice sounded weak even internally.

“Lady Kushina, please hold on!” Kakashi beckoned. “The boy needs his mother!”

“Kakashi!” she cried, “thank you for keeping us safe!” Tears of pain leaked from her eyes. The black marks were tunneling under her skin. Kyuubi was almost free and she knew it. 

“Thank me when this is over!” Kakashi sounded refreshed, like a man with hope. He held Naruto close to her. “He’ll understand when he grows up!”

Kushina was vaguely aware what was about to happen, and she hated every bit of it. Akemi, Minato, and Hiashi would suppress Nine Tails all at once, using Akemi and her unborn daughter as a conduit of sorts. They’d extract half of Nine-Tails and seal him inside Naruto. With the Fox fully suppressed, Tsuande would heal what she could of the seal around the other half of Kuruma and repair what she could of Kushina’s chakra network. If everything went right, no one would die, and they all could go on with normal lives.

Kushina actually managed a laugh through pain and exhaustion. There was nothing normal about being a jinchuiki. Even though she knew Naruto would likely succeed her in the role one day, she had always prayed he’d never have to bear the burden. _And now, you’re passing that burden before his life has truly begun._ Guilt followed pain as Kuruma clawed at her inside. Kushina knew there was no alternative, either. A lot of people were going to die if they failed. 

“Everyone remember,” Akemi commanded as Minato summoned the ceremonial alter, “Nine-Tails has very powerful negative Chakra,” she clutched at her pregnant belly, “at all times maintain focus on people you love. Kyuubi is likely to try and break us up, don’t let him.” Kakashi handed her baby Naruto, and she placed him on Kushina’s stomach.

A firm hand gripped hers, “I’m sorry, Kushina,” Minato cried, “this is all my fault!”

“Even if that were true,” she cut him off, “and it isn’t, I still love you!” She gripped his hand with all her strength, “I’d die for him and you!” she cried. “You both have made me so happy in such a short time!”

“Don’t cry, Kushina!” he pleaded, “You’ve seen nothing yet! I promised I’d keep you both safe and happy, and I never go back on my word. That is my ninja way!” Minato kissed her, his passion for keeping his word evident.

Kushina felt a short moment of joy at hearing the motto he’d had since childhood. She latched onto the memory of him holding her as he rescued her the first time as he transferred her and Naruto to the alter. Against pain, she remembered the love they had shared, especially the night Naruto had been made, and the joy and hope she had when she learned she was going to be a mother. Deep down, she latched onto the hope that there were still more memories to be made with him and Naruto.

Briefly, she felt Nine-Tails weakened. It was now or never. “Everyone ready?” Akemi asked, placing one of her delicate hands over the failing seal on Kushina’s belly and the other on Naruto. “Ready,” Kushina said, latching onto her hopes and dreams of being a mom to her son. A strange flood of chakra overwhelmed her, and everything went black.

* * *

Akemi Hyūga took several deep breaths through her nose in a vain effort to calm her beating heart as much as to calm the now very active baby in her belly. A wave of nausea washed over her at the thought of what she was about to do. Even if they succeeded, there was a chance that this would cause a miscarriage. Silently, she wondered if Hinata was aware of that fact that she had kept from the group. _I’m sorry, my love, but we all will die if this thing gets free! I’ll do everything I can to protect you!_

“Everyone ready?” She asked burning with determination as she rested her hands on Kushina’s injured belly and Naruto. Tsunade, Minato, and her husband nodded, placing their hands over hers. 

At the last moment, Kakashi also added his hands. Everyone stared briefly. “I’ve become quite attached to him tonight; I should see this through all the way. The other ANBU are good enough to protect us.”

Akemi nodded, and she began channeling everyone’s chakra into Naruto and Kushina, using herself and baby Hinata as a concentrating vessel. At first Hinata seemed resistant, but soon she too joined in the effort – the tickle of her chakra seemed to grant strength to the collective effort. Soon, her sense of self gave way to a feeling of collective awareness. She could sense Kakashi’s unease, Tsunade’s doubt, Minato’s panic, and her husband, Hiashi’s feeling of inadequacy. 

“You’re a fool for doing this, Lady Hyūga,” a gravelly, sinister voice called out to her in the darkness. “You put your baby at risk on a plan that is doomed to fail! You’re a poor mother and a terrible wife for concealing it from your husband. 

Thick, crushing guilt almost forced her to break contact when she heard Hiashi’s voice, “Don’t listen to him, my love!” Akemi found her grip on Nine-Tails, pinning it in chains. 

“Ah yes, Hiashi,” Nine-Tails growled. “I was wondering when the underachieving son would appear,” the beast gave a cavernous laugh. “Born only seconds before true heir to your family, the son destined for greatness; tell me, how does it feel to be Hiashi the blind and stupid?”

“Hiashi, hold fast!” Tsunade implored him. 

“Ah yes, the medical-nin who learned to fear blood, just as she fears death!” Kyuubi’s voice boomed with laughter, “You’ve chosen the wrong place to practice your arts! I’ll kill you last, just so you can watch in horror as the blood of the others covers you!”

Nine-Tails grinned as the chains on him slackened. “Ah yes, and you, hiding there in the shadows, Kakashi.” Akemi could feel Kakashi’s heart skipping beats as Nine-Tails spoke harsh lies, “You abandoned your friends, killing them both. Failure runs in your family, Kakashi! That’s why your father killed himself; the only reason he didn’t kill you was that he couldn’t wait that long!” Akemi felt the group faltering, as was her hold on Nine-Tails. _Dammit!_

“Trying picking on someone half your size!” Minato called through her bravely.

Akemi tapped into the bonds holding Nine-Tails. Feral rage radiated off him like a malevolent fire. “YOU!!! The beast snarled acidly, “I live to devour your corpse!!! Mark my words, Yellow Flash, I will feast upon you for this!!!”

Minato’s amusement was palpable, “I hear I’m tasty in a sauce of black vinegar, soya, and sesame seed oil!” Minato grinned, as did everyone else at the inappropriate reference. 

“You sicken me!”

“The feeling is mutual!” Minato called back.

“Enough of this, Kyuubi!” Akemi exerted the strength of the group back into the chains. The bonds snapped taut, restraining the beast, “Kushina may not be able to hold you, nor Naruto by himself, but mother and son together can!”

“Do you really expect a child to hold me forever!” Kuruma roared.

“Nothing lasts forever,” Akemi rubbed her stomach, “It only has to last long enough!” With titanic effort, Akemi began drawing off Nine-Tails Chakra through her and Hinata and into Naruto. For a long moment, she ease of the task fooled herself into thinking this would work without complication. 

As she felt Minato seal the one half into Naruto, she realized she had gravely miscalculated the situation. The seal holding this half of Kuruma began to crumble again. Lady Tsudande and Kakashi jumped in with all their might to keep the foundation holding the seal in place from crumbling, but it wouldn’t be enough. Too much of the beast’s chakra was still present, and Naruto could safely hold no more. _Crap! We’re in real trouble here!!!_

Kyuubi began laughing again, yanking at the chains binding him. “Did you think even such a weak vessel could hold even half of me!!!”

Akemi and the others shared a moment of panic. They’d failed Kushina and their village. Everyone was going to die because of her hubris! _Oh my god! I’m sorry everyone! I’m sorry Hinata!!!_

As the chains began to slacken, something unexpected occurred. Nine-Tails began to weaken, shrinking. “What!!!” it cried out, alarmed. “What sorcery is this!”

Akemi for a moment couldn’t make sense of it, either. The chakra was draining from Nine-Tails, but she couldn’t tell where it was going! A strange, light flitting in the pit of her stomach gave her the answer. _Oh my god, HINATA!!!_ Her unborn daughter was absorbing Nine-Tails, like a hungry fetus feeding on the chakra from its mother. Akemi froze, uncertain if she should fight the flow or work with her unborn daughter. 

She chose the latter, shunting the feral chakra toward the unadulterated chakra of new life. Far from corrupting the small ember of purple-blue chakra, Kuruma’s orange chakra grew the small ember to an unfathomable size for someone so small.

The restraints solidified around Nine-Tails. “It’s working!” Akemi yelled. _Good, baby, you’ve done well today!_ She rubbed her stomach, feeling Hinata kick gently. Akemi closed her eyes, knowing the task was done imperfect, but much better than it could have. When she opened them, dawn was peaking through the clouds, and the rest of the group lay passed out on ground around Kushina.

Alarm was overcome by exhaustion; limbs and eyelids suddenly weighed down like they were shaped from marble. Hinata continued kicking, probably the only one of them still with any level of energy. Before exhaustion took her, Akemi saw Kushina holding her baby son – her belly moving up and down as she breathed. Akemi smiled one last time before passing out.


	4. Four

Chapter Four

Kakashi Hatake watched over Minato, gently bouncing a smiling baby Naruto in his arms. “Hey, little guy,” he said in a tone he never thought he could find, “that’s your daddy sleeping over there!” Holding this child, knowing he had helped bring him into the world, was a reward all its own. For a moment, the hole left by father, Obito, and Rin was filled in. Kakashi was not naïve enough to expect it to last forever, but he had every intention of making it last as long as he could.

“Ughhh…” Minato finally began to stir in his hospital bed. 

“Daddy’s waking up,” he gently bounced Naruto to the baby’s delight. “Let’s go say, ‘Hi!’”

“Ughhh…” The Fourth Hokage opened his blue eyes, straining against the light of the room. “Oh god, what day is it?” he groaned and covered his eyes with his left forearm.

“October 12, you been out since dawn yesterday,” Kakashi replied cheerfully. Normally he did not enjoy tormenting his former instructor, but things right now felt so good he couldn’t help himself. 

“October 12!” Minato shot upright in the hospital bed. The past few days of nightmares seemed to finally catch up with him. “Kushina! Naruto!” he gasped, clearly not recognizing his own son in Kakashi’s arms.

“Relax,” he said putting a hand on the man’s chest, “Your boy is just fine, in fact, Kushina sent me with him,” he paused to hold out Naruto, “for a visit!”

He handed Minato his son. The boy took an instant shine to his father. “Hi, there,” he said gently, I’m your daddy; I see you already met Uncle Kakashi!” The baby’s expression glowed. Minato checked the boy’s belly, “It would be too good to be true that I just fainted during the delivery, and the last two days were horrible nightmares,” he sighed. 

“We can’t always get what we want,” Kakashi shrugged.

“What about the others?” Minato became apprehensive.

“Everyone is fine. We were all exhausted; you were almost as bad as Kushina,” Kakashi explained. He pulled up a chair next to the bed.

“How is she?” he asked, clearly fearful.

“She’ll need time, but she’ll make a full recovery,” Lady Tsunade’s voice caused both men to turn to face the door. “Lord Third has been running things in your absence.”

“Akemi? Hiashi?” Minato asked.

“Both alive and well, despite the complicated nature of what happened,” Tsunade hugged herself.

“What exactly happened?” Kakashi asked. 

“I don’t know, I really don’t,” she said. “For all we know about chakra and how it works, I’m truly baffled how your son could contain in half of Nine-Tails. I don’t even know how Akemi’s child is holding a quarter of it!”

“A full quarter?” Minato sounded alarmed. 

“The seal refused to hold even after we weakened the beast. We thought for sure we had lost, but,” Tsunade dipped her head, “for some reason, Hinata began absorbing Kyuubi’s chakra!” Tsunade began to cry gently. “I… I’ve never witnessed anything like it. It was the closest thing I could think to a miracle happening!”

“Now don’t get all teary-eyed, cousin,” a familiar, wild voice came from the doorway. Kushina steadied herself with a walker as she entered the room. Her beautiful red hair flew wildly about. Even unkempt, she made his breathing stop.

“Kushina!” Minato rose up again only for Kakashi to have to steady him to his feet. 

“Easy, Lord Hokage!”

“Kakashi, how many times do I have to tell you,” Minato began in a winded voice, “it’s Minato, just like how he’ll know you as Uncle Kakashi!”

Kushina hobbled close to embrace her husband and son. Even Kakashi felt small tears of joy at the occasion. 

“Before you two do something regrettable,” Tsuande broke the moment, I do have some bad news.

“Bad news?” Kakashi asked, “What now?”

Tsunade sighed, “Not that I think you’d try it again soon, but I would advise against having more children,” Tsunade put her hands on her hips. “I don’t think we can repeat a miracle like last night in another thousand years.”

“I guess, one is enough,” Minato said, rocking his son as he kissed Kushina on the cheek.

“There is more… Kushina… I don’t know how to tell you this… I…” Tsunade stumbled on her words.

“I know, so much for being Hokage, or a ninja in general ever again,” Kushina patted her side where she had been impaled.

“When Naruto is older, I think I can repair the damage without risking the piece of Nine-Tails getting loose,” Tsunade said hopefully.

“It can wait, Tsunade, just as long as my boys are okay.”

“Ahem,” Kakashi decided now was as good a time as any to interrupt, “I hate to interrupt the happy thoughts, but I have a do have a few things to say. That is, if my input is welcome.”

“Go ahead,” Minato said.

“First and foremost, I think someone should let Jiraya know his godson has been born.”

“Agreed,” Tsunade replied in unison to Minato and Kushina.

“Second, we should consider what security arrangements should be made for your family.”

“What did you have in mind, Kakashi,” Kushina tilted her head curiously as she took Naruto from Minato.

“I think his last name should publicly be Uzumaki and not Namikaze. It’s not much, but anyone from outside the village looking to harm him might have a harder time of it.”

“I think that works,” Minato said. “What else?”

“I also think we should consider having your family under more permanent protection. At least, until we sort out this business with Obito. I, of course, can make a few recommendations if you’d like,” Kakashi laughed nervously.

“Of course, Kakashi,” Minato said, “I think extending your assignment would be a wise decision for all of us. What about the Hyūga clan? Their daughter is now part Jinchuriki, too!”

“I think we can keep our daughter safe as is,” another familiar voice came from the doorway. Hiashi Hyūga joined the growing crowd in the room. He carried a bouquet of red roses and handed them to Kushina. 

“Lord Hiashi, how are Akemi and the baby?” Minato asked, his expression looked haunted to Kakashi.

“We’ll know for sure in another month or two, but all the medical-nin agree they can’t find anything abnormal with mother or child. None of them seemed to notice the abnormal chakra signature.”

“Out of curiosity,” Kushina asked, “Can you see it on either Naruto or me?”

“Only vaguely,” he replied, “which I was hoping for.”

* * *

Minato nodded at the good news. Aside from a small group of ANBU and Lord Third, no one else would be privy to Naruto’s unique situation. His son would live a normal childhood, at least normal for a Hokage’s child, and there would never be any stigma attached to him being a Jinchuriki, at least not until he was older and hopefully ready for the responsibility. 

Minato lovingly stared at his son, tracing his hand over the boy’s blonde hair. _My boy, I’m sorry this had to happen to you. I’m sorry I screwed up as a father already. I promise with all that I am to try and keep those mistakes small. I love you, my son!_ Tears of joy ran from Minato’s eyes; he didn’t want to imagine what this moment would have been like had he let Kakashi have the night off. 

* * *

“Naruto! Hurry up, or we’ll be late for the birthday party!” Kushina yelled to her son from the living room. Light snow was beginning to fall outside the living room window of the house. Already, the village was blanketed in white, houses looking like overly-frosted gingerbread houses. Post-holiday shoppers were already making for home to have cups off warm tea or cocoa to ward off what promised to be a cold, snowy day. 

“Naruto,” she called again. Kushina restrained the urge to holler again, but she instead began walking toward her son’s bedroom, careful not to trip over the toy kunai and shuriken he’d left all over the living room floor. In her head, she could hear her mom chiding her for leaving a mess everywhere she went. _I guess that whole, “I hope you have a child as messy as you are right now,” curse really works!_

The sound of coughing came from his room. _Oh no, I hope he’s not getting sick again!”_ Naruto had given all of them the flu only a month ago. Minato had to sit through long negotiations burning up with a high fever and a head swimming in cold medicine. Nevertheless, Kushina counted her blessings that they were all alive and well, and her son Naruto was now three years old.

She opened the door to his room, and she caught the laughable sight of her son covered in tiny dots from a red marker sticking out of his pocket. Equally laughable was the poor imitation cough he gave right as she came closer. Kushina had to stifle the urge to laugh and yell at the same time. “Mommy,” Naruto sniveled, “I don’t feel good. I don’t think I should go to the party!”

A tiny spark of mischief glowed in Kushina’s red hair. _This could be fun… this could be a lot of fun!_ The corner of her mouth rose. “Why Naruto, honey, what’s wrong,” she knelt down and put a hand on his forehead, “Do you have a fever?” It took supreme effort not to laugh.

“Ummm… I don’t know… maybe?” Naruto rocked back and forth on his feet. He clearly didn’t realized he was busted yet.

Kushina placed her hand on her chin and mock-scowled like she was deep in thought. “Hmmm. I suppose this means we should go see Granny Tsunade. She’ll want to take your temperature…” her voice trailed off to let his imagination fill in the gaps.

Naruto instantly tensed up, “No umm, I mean, I don’t think she needs to do that!” His eyes shot open in terror. Tsuande last month had lost her patience with Naruto when he couldn’t keep the thermometer under his tongue properly. To be fair to Naruto, all three of them had been terribly nauseous when being examined, and she and Minato barely avoided sharing his fate.

“And,” Kushina covered her grin with a hand as she stood up, “she may just have to give you… A SHOT!!!” Kushina gave heavy emphasis on the one thing she knew would scare Naruto. For as fearless her child as he was, he hated going to the doctor, especially to get a shot.

“NOOOOO!!!!” Naruto cried. He ran to the restroom and began frantically trying to wash the spots off his face and arms. He ran back in the room, having not dried himself, “See Mommy, I’m feeling much better!” Kushina could hold it no longer. First a giggle escaped, but it soon turned into a full-on fit of hysterics to the point she had to clutch her sides and started crying from laughter. 

Her laughter soon was stifled by a sharp pain in her right side, “Ahhhh,” she groaned. The pain dropped her hard to her knees. “Ahhh!!!” her knees ground on the hardwood floor. 

“MOMMY!!!” Naruto ran back to her side, still covered in soapy water. “Mommy! What’s wrong!” Naruto placed his hand on her forehead.

Kushina took his tiny hand in hers, “I’m okay, son, really,” she lied. Ever since that terrible night three years ago, heavy exertion of any type could cause extreme pain in her abdomen. Between the damage to her chakra network and the special seal used to contain the last bit of Nine-Tails, Kushina could never take for granted her ability to endure physically or emotionally taxing tasks. “But this is why you aren’t supposed to fake being sick; it can make Mommy hurt real, real bad.”

“Yes, Mommy,” Naruto began to tear up, “I’m sorry!”

Tsunade offered to try and repair the damage, but that would require fully bonding Nine-Tails to Naruto. Naruto wasn’t ready to know the details of the night he was born, much less take on the additional responsibility of carrying more of Nine-Tails. She hugged him close, wiping away his tears. She wished she could wrap him in her arms and keep him forever this young and innocent. _I don’t deserve you, my boy. I’ve laid on you a terrible burden no mother should ever pass on to her child!_ A few short tears of guilt, and Kushina straightened herself. “Now do you mind telling me why you made all those spots on yourself,” she pulled the marker from his pocket, “and pretended to be sick?”

“Mommy,” Naruto shifted as she released her embrace, “I don’t want to go to the birthday party. It’s so boring!” he whined. 

“Naruto, it’s Hinata Hyūga’s third birthday,” Kushina gently tapped his nose, “It means so much to her to have someone her age there.” They had invited the Hyūga family to Naruto’s birthday every year and they were invited to Hinata’s birthday each year. 

“But mommy, she’s really weird, and, and her eyes are really spooky!”

“Naruto,” she held him by the shoulders, “look at me. For one, just because she and her family look different doesn’t make them good or bad! You do remember what Uncle Kakashi has been teaching you, right?”

“I know, I know, Mom! There are good people who look bad and bad people who look good!” Naruto teared up, “But all the grownups look down at me with those eyes! I don’t like them looking like they’re judging me!”

She could understand his concern. The Hyūga clan were very cold to outsiders. “Son, this is a high honor to be invited because they don’t normally invite outsiders to family events. And you, your father, and I owe her and parents big time! She saved all of us once! The least we can do is pay our respects to her.”

Her son tilted his head in confusion, “I don’t remember her saving us,” he said as he dried his eyes.

“When you’re old enough, I’ll tell you the whole story, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll think differently of her.” She smiled, “Now, I need you to be my big strong ninja, and get ready! This is an A+ ranked mission, by special order of the Hokage!” Kushina hoped that making this seem like a ninja task would make Naruto a bit more excited. 

“Mom, will daddy be there?” Naruto asked sadly, his cheeks turning pink. Minato had been spending long nights at the office, negotiating a peace treaty with Kumogakure, The Village Hidden in the Clouds. The end of the Third Shinobi War had not formally ended hostility with their neighbors. With Obito’s strange actions three years ago, Konoha could ill-afford conflicts with the other villages. The chance of a formal peace treaty replacing a constantly unsteady armistice was too tempting, and Minato had been all in to get the treaty signed before the year ended. 

“Yes,” she answered unequivocally, “He will be there. He made a promise to Hiashi, and he never goes back on his word.” Kushina thought how to turn this to her advantage. “He, too, has to meet with people he doesn’t like being with for the good of us and the village. That sometimes is the duty of the Hokage.” She gently squeezed his cheek, “You might say this mission is your first step to being Hokage, like your dad!”

Naruto’s eyes lit up, and his mouth hung open wide. _Bullseye!_ “Now get ready, Uncle Kakashi will be here soon!” The doorbell rang on cue. And Kushina let Kakashi in while Naruto quickly changed into his more formal set of robes. While dressy on the outside, the traditional looking black robes had a black sweat suit underneath in the even the kids wanted to play in a less formal setting. 

“Lady Kushina,” Kakashi bowed, “and Lord Naruto,” he rose.

“Uncle Kakashi!” Naruto ran up to their bodyguard who scooped Naruto up in his arms, “ugh,” he groaned, “You’re getting heavy Naruto! Pretty soon I won’t be able to carry you anymore, you’re getting so big!”

Kakashi’s smile hid something more pressing in his eyes. “What’s up, Kakashi?” Kushina asked.

“Lord Fourth requests you and I join him, immediately,” he said grimly. 

“Naruto,” she said as Kakashi set him down, “go get your things, and we’ll leave.” He hurried back to his room. “Has something happened?” Kushina furrowed her brow as she asked Kakashi. 

“Negotiations are ongoing,” Kakashi evaded the question.

“They’ve stalled, haven’t they?” she asked, letting out a sigh. For the last week, there had been several instances where the other side simply walked away after some level of apparent progress. They were stalling, but no one knew for what.

“It’s not that bad this time, it’s just the chief negotiator has not shown up, and his signature is required for the treaty to be valid,” Kakashi nodded.

“So, they have agreed to the treaty?” She felt a strange mix of hope and apprehension in her guts.

“Yes, but something is off,” he replied. “Minato requests we join him at the Hokage’s office after we drop Naruto at the party. He didn’t want either of you in the open and unguarded, but he also didn’t want Naruto to miss the party, either.”

“Kakashi,” Kushina felt a pang of uncertainty in her stomach, “are you sure it’s wise to leave him unguarded if something is up? I just don’t know if I feel safe letting him out of my sight.” Even though her connection with Nine-Tails was largely a partition, she could still feel him inside her, filling her with doubt and fear. She could no longer draw on his chakra for strength, and her own chakra was tied up keeping him sealed until the day came to move him along.

“Kushina, we’ve been through this,” Kakashi bowed his head, “at some point, we are going to have to leave his supervision to others. He starts preschool this spring, and he starts at the academy in another two years. If he doesn’t learn now, then when?” Kakashi shrugged, “Besides, he’s going to be in the Hyūga Compound with a group of people that can see all things around them. How much trouble could he get into?” He laughed nervously.

“He’s my son, Kakashi,” she said, “I don’t like thinking of that rhetorical question when it comes to what might happen with him.” She rubbed her stomach against a mild pain. _Am I really holding him back? Am I smothering him by not letting him go?_

Kushina took a deep breath to calm her nerves, “All right, we’ll drop him off, but once this is over all three of us are going to the party to make up for this!” She, too had promised Akemi, Hiashi, and Hinata; and she did not go back on her word. Naruto would be fine on his own this time – it was just a third birthday party. Nothing bad was going to happen.


	5. Five

Chapter Five

Snow crunched under Naruto’s boots as they approached the snow-encrusted Hyūga Compound. The building stood imposing and unfriendly in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods of Konoha. The gate guard took their invitations and their IDs, verified they were who they said they were, and returned their documents without so much as a smile. As uncomfortable as taking the silver bullet might have been, Naruto thought seeing his godmother at the hospital would have been preferable to the greeting they received from the guard.

Naruto began to wish he’d insisted on Mom taking him to Granny Tsunade once inside the party. Everyone in the main hall was an adult, and even the central courtyard, decorated for the birthday and winter holidays, was full of adults – not one kid in sight. _I should have listened to Sasuke and Itatchi and licked my palms and not gone for the fake chicken pox routine._ Sadly, Mom seemed too smart to fall for any of their tricks. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she’d used them all before. 

“Kushina, Naruto, Kakashi!” Akemi Hyūga approached with her arms spread wide. Auntie Akemi wore a dark-blue robe tied with shiny black silk sash across the waist. She wrapped Mom and Kakashi in a massive hug. She then approached him, “Oh my, Naruto,” she pinched his cheek gently, “each year I swear you get more and more handsome!” She knelt down to hug him.

“Auntie Akemi!” Naruto whined, “I’m getting too big for hugs!”

“Oh, you’re never too big for hugs!” she released him. “Oh, Hinata! Neji! Naruto is here!!!” she hollered cheerfully over the hum of meaningless background conversations. 

Hinata’s father, Hinata, and her cousin Neji approached. Neji smiled with soft features. His robes were white with a scarlet belt tied immaculately at the waist. He looked like a model Naruto had seen in one of mom’s clothing catalogs. Hinata was tucked behind her father, clinging to him like he was a shield. She looked uncomfortable, almost scared. Naruto didn’t blame her. The rest of the party were all stuffy-looking grownups; the next youngest person here was an academy graduate, at least twelve or thirteen. No kid would want this kind of a birthday party. In a small way, he understood why his mom was dropping him off here. Hinata needed a friend. “Hi,” he said shyly with a wave. 

Hinata’s eyes widened, and she bowed politely toward him. For the first time, he really looked into her pale purple Byakugan eyes. After not seeing her for a year, the eyes no longer made him scared. The rest of her face was soft, friendly. Kakashi had always told him that the eyes were the window to the soul, but the rest of the face was window to someone’s true intentions. Uncle Hiashi looked stern the way Dad did the few times he acted out or got in trouble pulling pranks with Sasuke. Auntie Akemi looked soft and curious – like she was thinking of something far away.

Mom on the other hand looked like she was trying to hide something, something that was making her sad. “Mommy,” he said, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine sweetheart,” she said as she knelt to him. “Uncle Kakashi and I have to go like we talked about, but we will be back.” She smiled, trying to hide something he couldn’t identify, “And I will be sure that Daddy is with us!” Without warning, she wrapped him in a tight hug, “You be on your best behavior while we’re gone, and you have fun with Hinata and Neji! I love you, so, so much!” She gently rocked him back and forth. She released him, and she and Kakashi left him. 

As much as it normally felt good to hug mom, something about this made him feel scared. Naruto started to regret the training Kakashi had started with him since his birthday a little over a month ago. Kakashi called it “anti-kidnapping training.” Kakashi would quiz him on things that made no sense – ways to spot a police officer versus someone pretending to be one, how to escape having your hands tied, how to spot someone following you in a crowd, and so much more. 

While it was normally fun, now he didn’t like the fact that he was always scanning his surroundings for bad people trying to hurt him. _Lighten up, the buffet getting set up smells great, and everyone here is familiar! Mom and Uncle Kakashi wouldn’t leave you here if there were bad people here._

“Na-Naruto-kun,” Hinata’s voice squeaked slightly as she spoke. Her cheeks were bright red, clearly embarrassed or nervous, “w-would you like to join Neji and me for some games in my room for a while? Dinner won’t be served for another hour”

“Sure,” he said, offering her his hand, “Lead the way!”

* * *

Hinata had never been so glad to see another kid, especially Naruto. From what little she remembered of last year’s party, it had been little more than her being paraded around in front of grownups all day and night. She didn’t like it then, and she didn’t like it now. Too many people made her scared. She felt like an animal in a zoo being ogled by stuffy guests. About the only fond memory she had of the party was some of Naruto’s antics that turned into an impromptu game of hide and seek.

This year, father agreed that Naruto, Neji, and she could play on their own until dinner started on the condition that she would not be so shy among the adults when dinner came. Mother had set up several games in her room: ring toss, bucket-ball toss, pin the kunai on the ninja, and a flagged belt for playing capture the flag tag.

It was a price worthy paying. With just the three of them, in her safe space, she finally felt herself enjoying her birthday. Even better, Naruto’s arrival meant they could actually play most of the games with some level of competition – Neji for sure would dominate her if it was just the two of them. 

They began with a game of bucket-ball toss, setting the increasingly small buckets spaced out in a row and trying to get a bouncing ball to stay in the bucket. Hinata proved surprisingly better than Neji or Naruto. After three rounds of play, Naruto and Neji could only reliably get the ball to stay in the second bucket, and only once got it to stay in the third. Hinata, on the other hand, managed to get it in fourth bucket twice and the third bucket once. Crowned the winner, she chose the next game, “Pin the kunai on the ninja!”

The game was simple yet challenging. A poster of a ninja was taped to her bedroom wall, they’d each take turns trying to stick a paper kunai in the right or left hand of the poster while blind-folded. “Remember, no Byakugan, that’s cheating!” she remined Neji.

“Same goes to you, birthday girl,” he laughed. “How about we let Naruto go first?”

Naruto let her blindfold him and spin him in place one time. Naruto walked unsteady as a newborn deer for a moment, but he did catch his balance. For a long moment, he paused, uncertain if he was facing the right way – he was actually slanted toward the corner if he walked straight. Hinata eyed him curiously as he felt around on the floor with his toes, and he began to smell the air. He turned more on target than he had been. “Hey, is that bulgogi and fried rice I smell?”

“Yup,” Hinata replied excitedly. Her tummy rumbled on cue. Dinner would be ready soon. 

Naruto slowly walked toward the target and paused again. “Wait a minute,” he sniffed again, “Cinnamon rolls,” he said, “and something else familiar.”

“Hey, Naruto, before we all grow up, here,” Neji impatiently.

“Cinnamon rolls,” Hinata hungrily licked her lips. They were her favorite. 

“And ramen… hmmm,” Naruto sniffed deeply again, “But… no way, Ichiraku’s!” He said excitedly as he pinned his kunai off center to the ninja picture’s mid-section. He removed the blindfold, seeing he’d missed, but he didn’t seem to mind. He closed his eyes again and sniffed deeply, “Hey, it is Ichiraku’s!”

“Mother had it special ordered knowing you and your mom would be here,” Hinata said.

“Wait a minute,” Neji said, “You can tell all that by just smelling the air?”

“Yeah, why?” Naruto asked, looking amused. 

“I can’t smell a thing!” Neji exclaimed. Hinata noticed that Neji was correct; she could barely detect the smell of food at all, but she could detect it faintly.

Naruto laughed, “I guess all that training with Uncle Kakashi paid off!”

“What training,” Hinata asked, unable to contain her curiosity. This was a new trick she’d never seen anyone do.

“Uncle Kakashi makes me identify certain things by smell, sometimes by taste. He says because I’m the Hokage’s son, bad men may want to kidnap me. So, he makes me learn what to smell in food and drink to make sure it isn’t poisoned. I’m getting pretty good, believe me!”

“Really,” Neji said, mischievously. Hinata had seen that look before when he had her run interference while he snuck into the kitchen to raid some of Mom’s freshly baked cookies. “I think we have a new game to play!” he grinned ear to ear like a crocodile. 

“Oh?” Naruto replied.

“Put the blindfold back on, and let’s see how good he is,” Neji winked at Hinata.

“Okay!” Naruto said as he slid the blindfold back over his eyes.

Hinata went first, grabbing a bowl of cinnamon-scented pinecones from her dresser, “Try this one first!” she said excitedly.

“Easy,” Naruto sniffed, “that’s the holiday pinecones you had on your dresser.

Neji went next, using one of the paper kunai, “Try this one, smart-Alice,” he said. 

Naruto sniffed intently, ruffling his brow. “Smells like paper, but there is something on it,” he sniffed again, “ink, and something coating it…” he sniffed again, “Oh I got it! The paper Kunai!”

“No fair!” Neji exclaimed, “you were peaking weren’t you!”

“I did not!”

“Try this one,” Hinata held out her wrist. Naruto had a gift it seemed, and she was now curious how good it was. Strangely, this was the most fun she had all year. Naruto sniffed her arm, the small air currents of him sniffing made the skin of her forearm erupt in goosebumps. Hinata had to stifle a giggle; it tickled. 

Naruto tilted his head to one side, like dog would. He sniffed along the length of her arm again, tightening his face, deep in thought. “Of course,” he started, “I smell skin and silk… But, I smell rose water and jasmine,” he paused, “perfume?”

Hinata clapped her hands vigorously at the show. Naruto was really something special. He continued to rub his chin. Neji looked stunned that he’d pick out the light perfume her mom would let her wear. To most people, it was imperceptible – the soft jasmine masking the even softer rose water. “But there’s something else… Did your mom give you a bath early this morning or last night?”

Both she and Neji stared at each other. His mouth hung open. “H-How did you know that?” she stammered. This was getting just a little creepy. 

“I smell lavender, it smells likes the bath oil Mom uses sometimes when I can’t sleep,” he said.

She caught a moment from Neji, now removing his slipper and sock. Hinata opened her mouth, but he made a shushing motion with one finger in from of his lips. He again had his trickster grin. “Well, let’s see how good you are with this one! You might have to take and extra big sniff!”

As he passed the sock under Naruto’s nose, the boy recoiled. “UGH! Not cool Neji!!!” Naruto shouted. “Cotton, fabric softener, sweat, and a sprinkle of athlete’s foot,” Naruto covered his nose with one hand as he removed the blindfold, “that was your sock, wasn’t it!”

Neji roared with laughter as Naruto threw the blindfold at him in disgust. Hinata struggled not to laugh, but even she felt the corners of her mouth curl and her cheeks turn pink. _It was just a little bit funny!_

“I say we blindfold you and drop you upside down in a dirty laundry hamper and see how you like it!” Naruto and Neji wrestled playfully for a few moments. It wasn’t going to come to blows, she could tell by the two laughing at each other. She joined in the laughter. This truly was the best day every. 

_Knock, Knock._ “Kids, would you like some refreshment a voice called from the door. Hinata slid the door open. One of the caterers came bearing a tray of tea and cookies.

“Yes!” all three of them called in unison. 

“Very well,” the man called out. “Please take a cup and hold it out for me to pour.” All three did as they were told, and soon they had steaming hot cups of tea. The man grabbed a fourth cup and poured himself a cup. “A toast, to the birthday girl!” The man said cheerfully.

All three of them raised their cups. As Hinata raised the cup to her lips, something batted it away from her mouth, sending the cup flying across the room. “Don’t drink it!” Naruto shouted.

* * *

Naruto was grateful for the tea after having smelled Neji’s nasty sock. The vile thing could have made buzzards faint. _Honestly, does he ever wash his feet! The elephant cage at the zoo smells better!_ He laughed as the servant said, “A toast, to the birthday girl!” Maybe this party wasn’t so bad after all.

Naruto almost brought the cup to his lips when he smelled something faintly acrid in the tea. _Moondrop leaves!!!_ Also known as Good-Night or Black Sleeper leaves, the sap from the leaves was rapidly incapacitating if drank or injected. Kakashi had drilled him on the smell mercilessly; it was a common tool for kidnappers.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto eyed the servant. He was at least as tall as Dad or Uncle Hiashi, built like a gorilla, sporting short, cropped black hair, and trimmed spaded beard. One thing Naruto did not see was any sign of Byakugan in the man’s eyes. The man’s face and smile looked like a mask, something he’d seen in a nightmare once – a bad man hiding behind the mask of a good man’s face. Even more telling, he was wearing outdoor shoes instead of slippers inside the house, a major no-no.

In the time it took for Naruto to realize they were in danger, Neji had already taken a large sip, and Hinata was about to! He let go of his cup, reaching out with his left hand, batting the cup from her lips before she could take a sip. The cup exploded into fragments as it hit her dresser. “Don’t drink it!” he shouted as his cup broke on the floor. 

“Naruto!” Neji choked on his drink, “What’s gotten into you!” he yelled indignantly. 

Naruto ignored him, putting himself between the big man and Hinata. “Who are you! Who sent you!” he yelled, hoping an adult would hear the commotion. 

The man replied with a sinister look. “Just a caterer, coming to serve tea to some naughty kids, apparently!” The man tried sounding indignant, but Naruto could hear amusement. 

“N-Naruto-kun, he’s just a servant, I’m sure,” Hinata sounded worried, like she was going to get in trouble for what he’d done. He knew in his heart that this man was dangerous. 

“If so,” he didn’t take his eyes off the man, “why doesn’t he have any Byakugan!” Naruto pointed a sharp finger at the man’s eyes.

“Relax,” Neji said, Naruto picking up the slightest slur in his speech. “Not awll da stauff er...” Neji’s eyes shot open in a horrific moment of realization. He began swaying, his eyes closed, and he fell forward to the ground.

“Neji!” Hinata squealed. 

“Enough of this shit!” The man threw the tray at Naruto. He barely got his arms up to block, but it still hurt when it hit. Bruises were forming on his forearms. The man kicked him solidly, hurling him into the wall with a _THUD!_ Stars exploded in front of Naruto’s eyes. He felt dizzy, like he was about to throw up.

“Naruto!” Hinata screamed. The man covered her mouth, but she managed to get her teeth into his right thumb web. In slow motion, Naruto watch the man throw her into her dresser. Hinata screamed and cried as she fell to the floor; a crystal perfume bottle had fallen on her, spilling its contents over her. In slow motion, Naruto could only watch as the man scooped up Hinata, her one hand reaching toward him as the bad man burst through her bedroom window and out into the rapidly darkening winter evening.

At first, Naruto couldn’t move. Everything hurt. He was bleeding from a cut on the back of his head and another one from where the tray clipped him in the forehead. Neji was still breathing, but he wouldn’t wake for several minutes, maybe longer. _SAVE HER!_ A voice in the back of his head commanded him. Naruto struggled to his feet.

_SAVE HER!!!_ The unseen voice demanded he move faster. He looked out the shattered window. He saw footprints in the snow and the shadow of a man vanishing down the street to the left. “S-Somebody HELP!!!” Naruto screamed with all his might as he heard the rush of adults approaching. 


	6. Six

Chapter Six

Naruto began to shrug off the dizziness when the first adults arrived. Hizashi, Neji’s father was the first to enter, followed by several clan guards. “Neji!” the man yelled as he ran to his son. Hiashi and Akemi soon entered the room. For a moment, they both stood frozen in horror at the horrific sight. Naruto could feel blood running down his face, chilling him as badly as the cold air blasting in through the shattered window. Summoning his strength, Naruto pointed out the window, “He took Hinata!”

Hiashi rushed to the remains of the window, sticking his head out. “There’s a trail!” he turned to his twin brother, “Hizashi! Go, we’ll take care of Neji!” An exchange of some type happened between the two. Naruto wasn’t sure what, but whatever it was, it made Hiashi’s normally cold face turn into one that was begging, pleading for help. 

Hizashi nodded, stood up, and ran to the gaping hole, jumping through and landing in the snow. The two other guards followed. The men sprinted into the dark, following the trail of footprints in the snow. _Wrong way! They’re going to wrong way!_

Naruto didn’t know how he knew it, but he felt with every fiber of his body. The bad man had gotten into this house without any grownup being any the wiser. He has somehow snuck through the house, passing himself off as a servant to deliver tea to the three of them. He knew he wouldn’t have gotten out the front gate with Hinata. The footprints had to be another trick. “Wrong way,” Naruto muttered the thought aloud, “they’re going the wrong way.”

“Naruto,” Aunt Akemi’s voice sounded calming, but they needed to be anything but calm right now. If they stayed calm, the bad man would get away with Hinata! “They’re going the wrong way!” he yelled.

“Naruto, you’re injured, and you’re confused,” Akemi tried to calm him. “You need to hold still so I can check that head wound. _SAVE HER!!! GO!!!_

Naruto didn’t know why he listened to the voice in his head over Aunt Akemi, but he took off through the gaping window. Gravity took hold of him like a demon, but several inches of powdery snow cushioned his landing. “NARUTO!” He heard Akemi and Hiashi yell. “COME BACK!”

Before he could say anything, Naruto took a deep breath through his nose. The air carried the smell of sweat, tears, panic, and _rose water with jasmine!_ Naruto took off running in the direction opposite the footprints. His heavy robes began dragging in the wind. He was only a short distance from the house when he decided staying warmer was not enough if it slowed him down. He unfastened the belt holding his robes over his sweat suit, and he kicked off his slippers. 

Less encumbered, he moved even faster. Unfortunately, the sting of the cold began to take its toll. His socks were now soaked through from the snow, his toes were starting to burn. The wind hit him again, cutting through the sweat suit like he was wearing nothing. For a moment he slowed down, lungs now burning, feeling like they were filling with hot, angry liquid. 

Steam burst from his mouth and nose and he hunch over his knees. This was crazy. He had no real idea if he was right or wrong about this, just instinct and the scent of Hinata’s perfume drifting on the wind. For all he knew this was a trick or a figment of his imagination, just like the lack of footprints in the snow. _Remember Naruto, your first instinct is frequently a correct one._

Kakashi’s lesson rung in his brain as he tried to find anything to prove he was right or wrong. His eyes remained fixated in the pristine snow – not a single track. In fact, there wasn’t any sign the snow had been walked on at all during the day. _Impossible, this is a busy side street! Even with the steady snow, there should be tracks formed by the uneven snow._ The snow looked fake – like it had been poured flat like concrete. Naruto sniffed the ground again. He smelled Hinata, much clearer than before – she had to be closer than he thought. Naruto also smelled the man carrying her – he smelled of musk and spice – an alpha male. 

Naruto willed his frozen feet to carry him further. His persistence was rewarded with his first visual clue – several drops of red blood in the snow and as series of footprints. Two distinct sets or prints formed, the bad man’s were huge, and he assumed the small set belonged to Hinata. She must have bit or scratched the man hard enough to draw blood. There was a struggle and she escaped; Naruto followed the prints. _And then he caught her again!_ He could almost taste the mix of panic, euphoria, and disappointment of Hinata escaping only to be re-captured. Dribbles of blood continued in the snow as Naruto picked up at a full sprint. The man’s prints were fresh, no longer regular in pattern, he had to fight to control his victim at this point. He must have lost control of the Jutsu needed to blow away his tracks.

They were close by. He could almost feel Hinata. She was terrified, wondering if anyone would come and save her, why no one had yet come for her. The tracks led into an alleyway behind several closed businesses. At first, he thought it was a trick, but her smell was coming too strong along with his tracks. Naruto found himself in an enclosed alley. No exit except the way he came in. The tracks stopped here. Her smell was still in the air; she had to be here somewhere.

“HINATA!!!” he hollered with all his might. There was nothing but his echo to answer. “HINATA!!!” he screamed again with lungs that felt ready to burst from so much running. Naruto looked around for even the slightest sign of a track, sniffed around him for any indication that they had moved beyond this point. The world began spinning. He’d come so far only to lose her here! He started to cry.

A loud, “GAH!” split the silence. Naruto looked up to see the man on the roof above them, struggling with Hinata, who had her teeth dug into his right hand. “HINATA!” Naruto screamed.

Enraged, the man flung Hinata from the second story rooftop. Naruto moved faster than he knew possible to catch her. She hit him like a ton of bricks, dropping him to his knees. Naruto screamed for a moment from the pain; blood stained the white snow. “Naruto!” Hinata sprung to life, wrapping her arms around him. 

Naruto returned his gaze to the man, and any relief he felt vanished. “Rotten kids!” the man threw lethal shuriken, one grazing Naruto’s left cheek. 

Naruto took Hinata by the wrist, making for the alley’s one and only exit. Naruto stole a glance backwards – the man had disappeared. When he faced forward, he and Hinata stumbled to a stop in the snow. The man stood between them and safety.

The man gave a malicious grin. “This supposed to be a snatch and grab for her!” The man pulled out a kunai that sparkled in the dim light. “After I take out her eyes,” the man licked his lips, “I’ll take you instead, son of Lord Fourth!” The man laughed as he slowly approached. They had no way out!

A flash of shadow, and the big man was thrown into the alley wall. Another man with glowing purple eyes approached out of the shadows, Hiashi Hyūga. “Naruto, take Hinata and go! Get to your dad!” he commanded, putting himself between them and the bad man. Naruto didn’t wait; he pulled Hinata along and made a beeline to the Hokage’s office.

* * *

Minato sat back in his office chair, nursing his throbbing headache with a hot cup of tea. _Three hours ago, this should have been done three hours ago! I could be at a kid’s birthday party right now with my wife and kid, but the chief negotiator has to suddenly pull a disappearing act!_ There was a knock at the door thankfully to distract him from his anger. An ANBU operative entered the room and bowed, “Lord Hokage!”

“Please tell me you found something!” he said, rising from the chair to bow in return.

“I’m afraid not,” his voice replied crisply. “We’ve checked all known gambling parlors, movie houses, hot springs, love hotels, and pleasure houses. Absolutely no sign of him.”

“Dammit,” Minato looked down at the photo of his family on his desk. Hiashi had taken the photo of them last year at Hinata’s birthday. He should be there with them right now, celebrating good times and two children about to start preschool. Minato looked at the clock next to the photo on the desk. The Kumokagure had nearly taken Kushina from him once before, when they were still very young. _Never again!_

“They have one hour,” he said to the other shinobi. “After that, we are adjourned until tomorrow! I’m not putting our lives on hold so he can get his jollies at our expense,” Minato sighed. 

The buzz of the intercom on his desk caused his both hope and anger. _This had better be good!_ He pressed the answer button, “Yeah!” he exclaimed into the ancient intercom.

“Lord Hokage,” Kakashi’s familiar voice came over the comm speaker.

“Kakashi?” Minato instantly felt a chill down his spine, “what’s happened?”

“I need you downstairs immediately,” Kakashi paused, “Something has happened to Naruto.”

Minato jammed down the call button, “It he okay!” Instantly, his mind wandered to the large number of bad things this could be about.

“He’s fine, but you need to hear this!” Kakashi replied.

“I’ll be right down!” Minato rushed to down the hallway to the stairs. Despite it being the traditional home of the Hokage during his or her time in office, Minato shied away from taking residence in the mansion. He was a man of his people, and he did not wish to set himself apart. That, and there were too many goddamn winding stairways, a hedge against intruders. 

He reached the plush front room to a bizarre sight. Naruto stood stocking-foot in his black sweats, his dressy outer robe and shoes not accounted for. A disheveled Hinata sat curled up on the couch, her knees drawn to her chin, shivering – whether from the cold or fear, Minato was uncertain. “Naruto!” he ran up and embraced his son.

“Daddy!” Naruto returned the embrace, crying slightly. Naruto’s body was cold, and his tears were intermixed with a cough that sounded like he was getting sick.

“Naruto, what happened?” He held his son in front of him. Hoping to add some levity he said, “The party wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“No, dad,” Naruto cried, “A bad man snuck into the party and took Hinata! And… and I chased him to this alley, and he threw Hinata off a roof! But I did catch her! And- and then, Lord Hiashi fought with the bad man and told us to run here!”

Minato had a very bad feeling where this was going. An assailant able to get in the Hyūga Compound meant someone with resources and training: a foreign assailant or Obito. Either made his hands shake. “Son, tell me what the bad man looked like,” he struggled to stay calm, “Did he wear a mask, or have a really messed up face” he paused, trying to think about Obito’s appearance. “Or did he have weird eyes or really pasty skin?”

Naruto shook his head, “No dad, this guy was big and burly, like a steroid user.” It definitely didn’t sound like Obito. “A-and,” he continued,” he had really tanned skin, short black hair, and weirdly perfect teeth!” As he spoke, Naruto looked horrified, like he expected the man to appear from the description he gave. 

Minato, too, felt a racing of his heart at Naruto’s description. The blank page of his mind was slowly shaded in by the crayon of his son’s words. There was no doubt who he was describing – the chief negotiator. All the pieces to the puzzle began to lock into place: the stalled negotiations, the insistence on signing the treaty today, and the sudden disappearance of the lead diplomat from Kumo. _Goddammit! This was nothing but a ruse!_

Minato’s hands clenched until his knuckles turned white. The assholes had come from Kumokagure and ruined almost two weeks of the holidays to snatch a little girl. “Kakashi!” he growled as he stood up, “lock down the building!” He took several heaving deep breaths, “And mobilize the ANBU and military police! I want this man’s head!”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” a gravelly voice cut in from behind. Minato turned to see Hiashi Hyūga being escorted by a handful of military police. “He’s dead,” he flatly said. Minato stared at his friend. His right eye was swollen shut, the knuckles of both hands were torn, red, and bleeding. Hiahsi’s normally immaculate robes were torn in multiple spots and ruffled like a dog that had gone for a roll around in the snow. 

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Minato sighed. “He was the head of the diplomatic delegation; I was waiting on him to sign the peace treaty.”

“That wasn’t all he was,” Kakashi said crisply as he looked over a binder of papers. 

“You have something to add, Kakashi?” Minato asked, confused.

“I thought I recognized him, so I reviewed the old ANBU files on prominent Kumo Shinobi,” He paused to hold the file open, “He wasn’t just any shinobi, he was their _head_ shinobi!”

Minato turned to Hiashi, “S-ranked, you’re very lucky to be alive right now!”

“They’re going to demand my head for this, Lord Hokage!” Hiashi’s voice cracked slightly, something that he rarely did and only in times of great stress.

“Yeah, they can demand in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up faster,” Minato said indignantly, turning pink at the realization of what he’d said in front of two children. “Naruto, please forget what I just said!”

“Huh, what was that, Dad?” Naruto smiled for the first time since he had arrived. Minato breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that Naruto would be traumatized for life after this. _A three-year-old child, they were willing to kidnap and probably murder little children!_ Minato felt the acid in his stomach rise. Even for as ruthless as the Raikage could be, it sounded heartless. In fact, it sounded like something some overzealous moron would do without informing his lord in advance. 

_The assholes decide they want to get their hands on something but won’t get approval to do it. So, they take an official event like peace negotiations and turn them into a black op. The only problem is, they fucked up, and it looks like we murdered a diplomat as a result._ Minato hated the implications. This idiot’s actions had just put them back into the real possibility of being at war by morning. 

He looked at Hinata, trembling on the couch, her chin buried in her knees. She and Naruto might be the ticket out of this. Minato took the intelligence file from Kakashi’s and knelt in front of the couch. “Honey,” he said in his most soft, child-like voice, “I’m sorry your birthday got ruined, but I promise to make it up to you, but you have to do me this one little favor, okay?”

Hinata clamped her eyes shut and nodded; she hadn’t stopped shaking.

“Kakashi, please fetch Kushina,” Minato said gently. He knew to keep his voice down. Kushina would likely do this better, but there was no time to wait. He turned back to Hinata, “Hinata, I know you’ve just seen some scary things, and some bad man tried to hurt you, but I need you to be a big girl three-year-old, can you do that?”

A shaking nod answered as she opened her eyes again. Kushina entered with Kakashi, her cheeks turned red as she saw Hinata and their son in the terrified state they were in. Thankfully, she saw his hand signal to wait before speaking.

“Okay, you don’t have to say anything, even,” he held the file, praying this worked. “I’m going to show you a picture, Hinata, and I need to tell me if this is the man that tried to take you.” She visibly shook worse. Minato placed a hand on her back, “It’s okay, no one is going to hurt you here. I just need you to nod if it is the bad man, or you can shake your head if he isn’t. Can you do that big favor for me?” She nodded.

_Here goes!_ Minato felt a sick racing in his chest and stomach. If this little girl clammed up or shook her head, they were in real trouble. Minato showed her the photo, “Have a look.”

Hinata started shaking again under his hands. Her eyes clamped shut, she nodded. “YES!” she sobbed. 

Minato turned to everyone else. “Will everyone here swear that she nodded and said, ‘yes’?” Kushina, Kakashi, Naruto, and Hiashi all said, “Yes,” in unison. _Good, but let’s go for double jeopardy!_ “Kakashi, hand me another file folder, doesn’t have to be anything special, just some other Kumo shinobi will be fine.”

A quick moment later, Kakashi returned with several intel files with photos of Shinobi with similar appearance, at least as similar as possible – the Head Shinobi was very distinctive in appearance. “Naruto, please come over here by daddy.”

Naruto did as asked. “Now, I’m going to show you a few pictures of different men,” Minato told his son. “If one of them is the bad man, please stop me, okay?”

“Yes, father!” Naruto nodded. _At least he can still speak!_

“Okay here goes,” slowly he flipped files one at a time. First one, then another, and another. Each time Naruto shook his head. Minato felt his heart sinking, as he got ready to flip to one of the last files, “WAIT!” Naruto shouted.

“Take your time.”

“It’s him!” Naruto said. Minato prayed that he was right about this. As he flipped the file, he was rewarded to see the photo matched the one Hinata had pointed out.

“Are you sure?” he asked, hoping his son didn’t second guess too badly.

“Yes, I know…” Naruto began tearing up, “… because he had the same look on his face when he threatened to cut out Hinata’s eyes and kidnap me!” Naruto began full sobbing. 

Minato wrapped his son in a hug, “My boy, it’s all right! You did good today, really good, my little hero shinobi.” He felt bad subjecting either child to this. Minato continued to hold his crying son as he asked, “Will all of you agree that my son and Hinata picked out the same person?” A series of nods. “And Hiashi,” he asked, “will you testify that this man did indeed take your daughter and threaten her life?”

“Yes, I will,” Hiashi said in a low rumble. “Now if you don’t mind, I think I should get Hinata home.”

“Not just yet,” Minato shook his head as he stood up. “We still have a war to prevent, and it’s going to take all of us for a little bit longer. “Kakashi, Hiashi, meet me in my office. We need to have a discussion with the Raikage before this thing gets blown further out of control.”

Minato turned to Kushina. She looked the full cascade of pride, guilt, relief, and anxiety. When she arrived, she had amused him with the story of Naruto’s attempt to fake chicken pox. Had Kushina not insisted on him going to the party, their son would not be part of an international incident. On the other hand, Hinata might have a bag over her head, being forced to walk to a distant village in barefoot in the snow with god knows what awaiting her if she survived it. “Kushina, can you look after Hinata and Naruto?”

Kushina nodded. “Of course,” she smiled at Hinata, “I’ll take good care of them.” Kushina gently caressed the top of Hinata’s head. “Go on,” she nodded to Hiashi, “She’s safe with me.”

Minato and the others turned to leave. “Daddy! Wait!” he heard Naruto call. He turned back to his son. “Dad,” he spoke with a shaky voice, “the bad man had someone with him!”

“Hiashi?” Minato asked, wrinkling his face.

“There was someone acting as a decoy, I’m sure,” He replied. “I only managed to save Naruto and Hinata because he ran off after her, claiming the search party had gone the wrong way!” Hiashi managed a narrow smile, “You might say, he’s the reason Hinata is safe.”

“Kakashi, Hiashi, let’s get to the office and alert everyone. “If this guy had a partner, we need to find him, now!”


	7. Seven

Chapter Seven

As birthdays went, Hinata’s third was about as bad as Naruto could imagine. Despite Mom’s attempts to calm her, to get her to say anything, Hinata remained a curled-up ball on the couch. He wished he could do or say something, anything to snap her out of it. Watching her shake made him feel cold, helpless.

A strong set of arms lifted him up, almost causing him to jump until he saw it was Mom. “Kakashi’s right, you’re getting heavy, mister!” she heaved him up onto the couch next to Hinata. “Now come on, time to get these wet socks off,” she said as she pried off his wet socks.

“Mom!” He sincerely hoped that was all she was going to remove. 

“Now you stay here with Hinata,” she said as she wrapped them in a blanket she had found in one of the closets. “And keep her company for a minute. I’m going to the kitchen to make us some tea. If anything happens, you are supposed to do what?”

“Shout for you and Daddy,” Naruto replied.

“And?” her tone wasn’t quite scolding.

“Hit the panic button under the table,” he said.

“That’s my good boy,” she gently tapped a finger on his nose. “And don’t worry Hinata,” she said as she turned, “my boy will keep you safe, I promise.” She caressed Hinata’s black hair, “I’ll be right back!”

As mom left, the silence of the room became deafening, oppressive. Naruto would give anything to have back the sweet, shy girl that had invited him to play games with her and Neji earlier. If he could just get her to say something. “Hinata,” said as he took her hand, “I-I’m sorry!” Naruto felt himself tearing up from the guilt of what he planned to say.

“For what?” her voice squeaked. She turned to look at him. Hinata’s faced was tense, clenching back against tears the leaked slowly from her eyes. _Why doesn’t she just cry? I’d be crying if this happened at my birthday._

“I-I’m sorry Hinata, I… I didn’t want to go to your party,” the dam holding back his guilt broke, “and I faked being sick, but Mommy threatened to take me to the doctor! So, I went and… your day got ruined!” Naruto began to cry hot tears. He was such a bad friend.

“Na-Naruto-kun, please stop crying or you’re going to make me cry!” Hinata began to let more tears out. “Please, I’m scared!” She curled tighter on herself.

Naruto stopped for a moment, trying to make sense of what she had just said, “Hinata, what are you scared of? My Dad is here, your dad is here, and this is the most secure building in the village.”

“It’s my dad,” she stifled more tears. “H-he says that my crying all the time when things go bad is a sign of weakness! He says, that when I get to the academy, people will make fun of me if I don’t stop!”

He looked at her frightened, pale purple eyes. “Hinata, my mom and dad, the Hokage, say it’s perfectly normal to cry when you’re hurt or scared.” He began feeling butterflies in his stomach sitting here, holding her hand. “If you need to, or want to, go right ahead. I-I promise I won’t laugh or judge you!”

Something in Hinata snapped. One moment she was sitting next to him, the next she had her arms around him, bawling her eyes out into his shoulder. For a moment, he didn’t know how to react; he decided to do what Mom and Dad did – he wrapped his arms around her in a hug in return.

Hinata felt cold all over, the only warmth from her were tears and snot running down onto his outfit. Strangely, Naruto didn’t mind. Aside from the outfit already being torn and bloody in spots, holding her here felt surprisingly good. He felt like a puzzle piece put in the right spot. 

After a while, Hinata ran out of tears, pulling back from him slightly. “Thank you!” She pulled him back to her, “Thank you, Naruto!” a few tears ran, but nothing near as bad as he thought.

“For what?”

“Thank you for coming to the party Naruto-kun!” She shook as she hugged him, “I know it’s so boring; I was so afraid you weren’t going to come!” She let him go, her cheeks bright pink. “Just having you there was a better gift than anything the elders had. 

It was his turn to blush now. Naruto was hardly popular among the kids in the village. Hinata was the only child from last year to show up to this year for his party. Mom had told him that they owed Hinata for saving them before Naruto could remember. He didn’t know how, but Naruto could tell there was something very special about Hinata. And it wasn’t just that she looked really pretty right now. 

“Kids,” a cheery voice called from the doorway, “I brought some tea!” It was Mom.

The steaming mug looked inviting after the ordeal he’d been through out in the cold. His throat felt raw and sore, and his lungs felt like balloons that had been put in the freezer. Mom lowered the tray, and he grabbed a steaming mug, “Thanks mom,” his voice squeaked a bit.

He almost brought the mug to his mouth when Hinata grabbed his wrist, “Naruto, don’t drink it!” Hinata looked terrified as she stared at Mom.

_What’s gotten into her? Not every tea is poisoned!_ “Mom, I…” he stopped mid-sentence. She looked like Mom, and she sounded like Mom. But whomever was in front of him wasn’t Mom. This person had brown eyes, but Mom’s eyes were violet-blue. Naruto froze. The guy who had attacked them at the Hyūga compound had a partner – the person who left the tracks in the snow to throw off the search party.

“Yes, son?” Not-Mom asked.

“Mom, you remembered to put honey in it this time, right?” he asked

“Of course, love!” Whomever stood in front of him smiled. 

* * *

Hinata was finally starting to feel normal again after Naruto let her cry on his shoulder. As odd as it felt, holding him was the best birthday gift she could ask for. Unlike anything in a box wrapped in string, he made her feel warm, safe. She wanted to stay here with him like this and not go back out into the cold.

“Kids, I brought some tea!” Auntie Kushina called out as she reentered the room. She was always kind to Hinata, though she never understood why. Despite her normally kind appearance, something felt forced in First Lady Kushina’s voice. 

Something cold and dark stirred inside Hinata. The same, horrific sensation when the bad man threw her from the roof chilled her all over. For a moment, where Aunt Kushina stood, she thought she saw the bad man again. A quick blink, and she could see the chakra network and body shape of a man standing where Kushina was. She blinked again, only to realize she could see through her own eyelids. _Impossible! My Byakugan is activated! No one under the age of five has ever done it!_

Through her Byakugan, Hinata could clearly tell this wasn’t Auntie Kushina. He looked similar, but not the same as the bad man: tanned skin, black hair, dark brown eyes. Her senses became sharper, and she could smell the same musk smell the other man had. In the end of her hearing range, Hinata could hear a low laugh under the man’s breath. Somewhere deep inside, fear began turning into anger. _How dare someone with such evil intentions pretend to be Auntie Kushina!_ Naruto moved to take a sip of his tea, undoubtedly poisoned. Hinata jerked her hand between the cup and his lips, “Naruto, don’t drink it!”

Her enhanced field of vision meant she didn’t have to take her eyes off the impostor to see Naruto’s reaction. At first, he was skeptical, but soon his face morphed from disbelief to frightening realization. In a photograph, Kushina’s eyes would appear dark brown or black because of the unique shade of violet blue they were didn’t photograph well. Someone who didn’t know her personally would make that mistake with a transformation jutsu. Naruto very slightly nodded his head, signaling that he noticed it as well. 

They were now isolated from help, and she could sense this man had murder in his heart. Naruto must have sensed it, too. His fingers were squeezed tightly around the mug. “Mom, you put honey in it this time, right?” he asked, tensing his arm. Hinata discretely leaned her weight forward.

“Of course, love!”

Naruto hurled the contents of the cup into the man’s face. Hinata meanwhile, sprung upward, knocking the tea service and hot tea all over the man. His transformation dissolved, revealing his true form. “MOM!” Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice sounded raspy. The bad man grabbed him by the collar and flung him across the room into an armchair, causing it to fall over. Hinata rushed toward the end table seeing the red button underneath. The man grabbed her ankle, but she managed the press the button.

The air was split by the sound of an alarm klaxon going off. Hinata tried to grasp the table, but the man easily overpowered her grip, dragging her across the carpet. As he pinned her leg in place, the man drew a long kitchen knife. His eyes turned wild with murderous intent. _Ohmygodohmygod!!!_

The man reared back with the blade, when a white blur flew across the room. A teapot full of hot tea shattered against the back of the man’s head. “Ahh—AHHHH!!” the man screamed as scalding hot tea burned the back of his scalp and down his neck. His grip on her ankle slipped as he reached to protect himself from further injury.

Auntie Kushina’s red hair flailed behind her like wildfire as she sprinted toward the man and smashed his face with the wooden tea tray she had been carrying. Wooden splinters flew as the tray erupted, tearing the man’s immaculate features. Blood oozed from the man’s nose and a gash across his forehead. He staggered backward, dropping the knife.

Kushina took a swing with her right hand, but the man got his arms up to block, batting away her attack. With his free hand, he drove the heel of his hand under her chin. Her head jerked backwards from the blow, and she staggered backwards. He lunged at Kushina, throwing her backwards. She staggered catching her leg over a coffee table that collapsed beneath her in a loud crash of wood and ceramic knickknacks breaking. 

The bad man knelt over her, trying to choke Kushina. As the two struggled, Hinata remained frozen, struggling to process the scene. _Move! MOVE!_ Naruto ran toward the man brandishing the kitchen knife. He stabbed it into the man’s backside causing the man to cry out, “ROTTEN LITTLE PUNK!!!” He let go of Kushina and backhanded Naruto so hard he flew back to the couch, narrowly missing Hinata. 

Naruto had been knocked out cold. Again, the man turned to Kushina, planning on finishing what he started. Hinata felt her Byakugan activate again. _MOVE!!!_ Hinata locked her vision on one of the man’s chakra points on his right side. It glowed white hot as a star. Something deep inside her erupted, and Hinata leapt forward toward the bad man “KYYIIIAAAHHH!!!” she screamed as she rammed her tiny fist full force under the man’s ribs.

Much to her surprise, the man let out a muted groan like a deflating balloon. He went limp and faceplanted into the carpet. Aunt Kushina shoved the rest of him off her. Hinata wound up to hit the foul pig in another chakra point, but Kushina’s hand stopped her. “It’s all right, he’s not getting back up!”

Hinata’s anger melt off and transformed back to concern. “Naruto!” she ran toward his lifeless form. His nose was bleeding, and the cut on his forehead had reopened. “Naruto! Say something!” Hinata wouldn’t forgive herself if he had died.

“Ugh…” he moaned as his eyes opened. His blue eyes looked confused, unfocused.

“Hold still, love,” Kushina said as she appeared at their side. Naruto’s mom began inspecting him. He had to have been hurting pretty badly not to protest like he normally would.

“You did a good job, Kushina!” Minato’s voice called from the doorway, sounding impressed. “Kakashi, Hiashi, make sure he doesn’t get back up!”

“I had a little helper or two,” she smiled through bloody lips, patting Hinata on the head. “Are you all right, dear?”

“Yes,” Hinata said as she looked at the room around her. The man was still limp, but clearly not dead. _Did I do that!_

“Hinata activated her Byakagun?” Kakashi said, both nervous and impressed. 

“Unprecedented, even for someone who manifested it in her eyes at birth,” Dad sounded shocked. He walked to her and knelt, “Honey, you did this to the bad man?”

“Y-yes, father!” she felt her throat tighten and tears beginning to form. She had nearly killed the man, and that made her scared. 

“You’ve done well then!” Father praised her, but she didn’t feel good about what she had done. 

“Yes,” Lord Fourth said. “It seems you bear watching,” he smiled. “I can tell you’re already going to be someone with a big future. He patted her on the head, “Thank you for saving my wife and son again.”

_Again?_ Hinata didn’t understand, and more importantly, she didn’t want to. She was feeling exhausted. She wanted to go home and see Mommy. 

“Gentlemen,” Kakashi’s spoke with a steady voice, “I think we have all we need to resolve tonight without further incident.”

“Good, let’s get ready! We may yet save some of this child’s birthday and get her home in time for dinner!” Lord Fourth replied.

Father picked her up, holding her like he had when she was only a baby. “Daddy...” she mumbled, but exhaustion finally took her.

* * *

“Lord Raikage,” Minato spoke into the video conference camera, “it is an honor to speak with you again.”

“You can dispense with the pleasantries, Lord Minato,” the man replied annoyed. “Is the treaty signed?”

“No,” he replied crisply. 

“What do you mean, no?” his counterpart looked annoyed. The rest of the delegation present in person looked nervous. Minato had no doubt some or all of the three men remaining were somehow involved in what had happened today. 

“Your lead negotiator is dead,” Hiashi broke in, “I killed him.”

“YOU WHAT!!!” the Raikage shouted through the video screen. “This is an act of war! How dare you contact me with this farce or a diplomatic meeting!”

“Before you lose your temper,” Minato grinned, “You may want to hear the full story. It might enlighten you!” Minato smiled broadly. The Raikage looked unmoved, but the other men looked terrified. _All three of the bastards; I knew it!_

“The only thing you should be doing is offering Lord Hiashi’s insolent head up as repayment!” the Raikage screamed. “That man was our head shinobi!”

“ _Was_ , being the key word,” Hiahsi laughed slightly. “The man forfeited his life when he tried to kidnap and murder my daughter and the Hokage’s son!” Hiahsi’s voice went from amused to violently indignant.

“And I’m sure you have proof to back this preposterous claim!” The Raikage demanded.

“As a matter of fact,” Kakashi replied in an overly-chipper voice, “we do!” He turned toward the door, “Kushina, Naruto, Hinata! Please join us!”

Kushina had tended to the children’s injuries as well as her own before they began this show. Naruto had gauze taped across his forehead and a smaller square stained red on his left cheek. His right eye was purple, and it was starting to swell closed. Hinata had a few scrapes, but her torn robes were much more telling. As for Kushina, red finger shaped bruises formed around her neck from where the second assailant tried to choke her.

“All I see are a mother and children showing signs of clear physical abuse!” one of the diplomats called out.

“The children will happily swear that this man,” Minato held up the photo of the Head Shinobi, “tried to abduct Hinata Hyūga from her birthday party!” Minato felt his cheeks burning red. “And both these children and Lord Hiashi will testify under oath that he threatened to kill them!”

“It’s a ruse, Lord Raikage!” One of the diplomats protested, “He would never do such a thing! We don’t know what you’re talking about!” The man pointed a finger at Minato.

Minato felt a thin smile form on his lips. He let it grow slowly into a wild grin, “Now that’s interesting,” he paused to smile to the Raikage, “because one of your compatriots tried to finish the job just a few minutes ago, in this mansion!” He pounded a hand on the table, startling everyone. “You assholes broke the one unbreakable rule of diplomacy and tried to murder a Hokage’s child in his own home!”

“Where is your proof,” the Raikage asked indignantly, “Produce it, and I’ll gladly have these men executed for breaking orders!”

“Kakashi,” Minato turned to his friend. Kakashi rose from the table and opened the side door to the room. He wheeled in a now thoroughly-restrained Kumo shinobi -- the man who had attacked Kushina and the kids.

“While my wife and the kids will happily testify that this man, one of your diplomats, tried to murder them,” he paused to look at his wife, “they won’t have to!”

Kakashi passed each man of the diplomatic team a copy of a letter the man had signed. “You all may find it interesting that he said all of you were in on this, except for Lord Fourth who refused to sign off this mission.” Minato stared at the men with eyes that could burn holes through steel. “You’re all persona non gratia! You have thirty minutes to leave the village or face execution!” Minato stood, pounding both hands on the desk, “You have disgraced yourselves and your village, and you have ensured this accord will never be signed now!”

“Lord Hokage!” the Raikage called through the video link, “I give you my word of honor that these men were acting without authorization from my office! I was dead serious about concluding peace, and I still am!”

“Prove it!” Minato roared, hoping he hadn’t pushed his luck too far. “Withdraw your demand for Hiahsi’s head, and come here to my village to sign this accord in good faith!”

The Raikage paused for several moments. “You would have me at the Village Hidden in the Leaves?”

“You would be my honored guest,” Minato let his voice soften. _Keep it up, you’ve got him!_

The Raikage composed himself. “Very well, Lord Minato. I withdraw my demand and shall agree to appear in your village to sign this accord on New Year’s Day, if you please.”

“I can think of no better way to start a new year,” he smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. “As for them…”

“Do with them as you please,” the Raikage said. “If you wish to execute them, make it discrete is all I ask.”

“These men are diplomats who have shamed their village,” Minato replied, “I would have their village pass judgement on them for almost starting another war with their little stunt.”

The Raikage smiled back, “Very well. Have them transferred to the border and I shall see they are punished, personally. Now if you don’t mind,” the Raikage sighed, “I have a terrible headache! Good Night!”

The diplomats were arrested by the ANBU in the building and taken for transport to the border. Finally, at the end of the long day, Minato spoke, “I wouldn’t want to imagine how that would have gone had Naruto and Hinata not been so brave today!”

“Indeed,” Hiashi spoke, “I am in your debt, both of you, for saving my daughter and probably saving me!”

“I told you,” Kakashi said, “that it wasn’t too early to start training him!”

Minato spied Kushina, holding their son in her arms. He expression was dour. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“I… I broke that antique vase in the front room when the man threw me through the coffee table!” she said. “It was a priceless gift from the Hyūga clan’s ancestors!”

Hiashi stifled a snort, trying not to wake Hinata, now passed out in his arms. Kakashi began to chuckle, and soon he could hold back no longer. Minato bellowed a hearty laugh, and pretty soon all three men were laughing to the point of hysterics. Even sleepy Naurto and Hinata stirred at the laugh. “I fail to see how this is funny!” Kushina exclaimed.

In between bouts of laughter, Minato said, “It… was… FAKE!!!” Kushina’s face twisted in confusion. “Lo-Lord Hiashi had broken it when he was a little kid visiting the Hokage’s mansion!!!” Minato could feel tears of laughter. “After getting a sound spanking from his dad, his father had it replaced with a cheap duplicate!”

Kushina turned pink, and she too joined in the laughter. After the day they all had had. The laughter was cathartic, leeching out the poison of the stress they had all faced. As their laughter died down, Hiahsi spoke, “Per-perhaps, I could persuade you all to join Hinata and me for dinner and birthday cake?”

“Lord Hiashi,” Kushina said, “we appreciate it, but I think it’s time for us to get our little shinobi home and let him rest.”

“Very well, I guess I’ll have to see if the ramen I ordered from Ichiraku’s will reheat well tomorrow then…” Hiahsi’s voice trailed off playfully.

“On second thought!” Kushina’s eyes and hair perked up at the mention of ramen, “No sense in wasting it! I’m sure Naruto hasn’t eaten all day and must be very hungry!” A somewhat sleepy Naruto perked up and nodded in agreement with his mom. 


	8. Eight

Chapter Eight

Kushina stirred vegetables in the curry sauce in the skillet. The spicy aroma was warm and heavenly on a cold January afternoon. While not as heavenly as ramen, it was one of the few dishes that Naruto would eat that contained a reasonable amount of veggies – like most boys his age, it was a major chore to get him to eat anything balanced. 

Her eyes strayed to the photos on the nearby living room wall. There were photos of her and Minato before and during her pregnancy, and then there were the photos of Naruto and Hinata. From birth to Hinata’s fifth birthday two weeks ago, their photos hung side by side. Kushina felt a mix of emotions as she stirred, looking at the past five years of her life. Hope that her son and Hinata would live in a world more peaceful than the one she’d grown up in. Sadness that it was tragedy that had forever linked the two together. Pride that they were both at their first day of the academy. Regret that they were both growing up so fast.

Kushina patted her stomach where the scar ran down her right side, and she felt envious of Akemi – she had just given birth this past March to a little sister for Hinata. Kushina, on the other hand, had been under a strict regimen of contraceptives ever since Naruto was weaned. Kushina took a deep breath, struggling to hold back her emotions. _Can’t have any more kids, can barely mold chakra; hell, I can barely train Naruto! What good am I to anyone anymore!_

Deep down she knew her doubts weren’t founded on anything remotely true. She was her son’s mother, something especially important given how much Minato’s work kept him from home. While she could not teach Naruto much about using chakra, she had taught him everything she could about ninjitsu, and she read to him every bit of shinobi history she could. If she couldn’t be Hokage one day, her son would at least get his chance. She had survived things that would have killed other shinobi in order for him to live. _If it meant giving up being Hokage someday so that I can be a mom to my son, so be it. It is a sacrifice worth making._

A strong set of arms enfolded her from behind, bringing her back to the here and now. “Hey gorgeous, it smells good!” Minato said, squeezing her gently from behind. His smooth cheek rubbed up against the side of her face.

“It will be ready by the time Naruto gets home.”

“Speaking of,” he said, rubbing her stomach as he kissed her cheek, “he won’t be home for a little bit longer.” The grin on his face was audible. 

“So that’s why you took off early, you fiend!” she playfully swatted his hand rubbing her tummy. He knew it was a turn on, one that was hard to resist. 

“Not the _only_ reason,” he began kissing along her neck, “but definitely the best one!” Minato began nibbling her ear. 

Kushina felt her lips mold into an involuntary smile. Everywhere his lips touched sent shivers down her back. “Were all the men in your family raised by perverts and horndogs, or was it just you?” She giggled, turning off the heat on the saucepan.

She spun in his arms, kissing him desperately. There was never enough time for this. A quick glance at the kitchen clock confirmed there still wasn’t enough time for this. “Naruto,” she said breathlessly to his mouth, “will be home soon!”

“I’ll be quick,” he said, beginning to loosen the buttons on her blouse.

“You said that last time,” she laughed, “and Naruto nearly walked in on us!”

“That would have been a hot one to explain,” he began laughing. Minato began kissing along her neck to her collar bone, migrating toward her chest. _He’s too damn good at this!_ He began to release her bra clasp.

_DING DONG!!!_

“Shit!” she said, out of breath and her heart started racing in her chest. Despite the distraction, she continued massaging his shoulders

“Let it ring!” he said, kissing along her chest as if nothing had happened. The front clasp on her bra released. 

_DING DONG!_

Kushina didn’t know why, but her hunger for sex was suddenly replaced by maternal instinct. Something was wrong, throwing cold water on her. “Minato, down boy! Something’s wrong! We have to get that!” She rushed from him, restraining the girls and buttoning up her shirt. She could hear Minato following close behind. A quick check in the hall mirror to be sure she had no visible hickeys from her hubby, and Kushina opened the door.

For a moment, she thought someone had played ding-dong ditch until she looked down to see a very distraught looking Hinata on the doorstep. The little girl was dressed in her winter gear: deep red overcoat, pink mittens hanging out of her pockets, and a navy-blue scarf. Hinata’s eyes were wide, filled with fear, anxiety, and shame. Kushina almost screamed when she noticed blood dripping from the girl’s swollen knuckles and small flecks of blood spattered on her face. 

“Hinata!” Kushina, stifled a scream as she knelt down to hug her.

“Auntie Kushina,” the girl moaned through tears, “can we come in, please?”

_We?_ Kushina almost asked what Hinata meant when she saw him sneak from behind the front bush. Naruto was covered in bruises and what looked like a black eye forming on his right eye. His hands were also swollen and bloody. A tiny stream of blood was draining from his nose. “Hinata go inside!” she let her go and rushed to her son. “Naruto!” she exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug.

“Hi mom,” he said flatly, like he was punch-drunk. She could tell he didn’t feel like talking, but this was definitely something that needed to be talked about. Kushina strained as she picked her boy up and carried him into the house. 

Minato help take their coats and remove their shoes. Kushina noticed something as she pulled away Hinata’s coat, a fragment of Naruto’s red scarf, clutched in her hand. Kushina had knitted that scarf shortly after Naruto was born. Kushina could feel a surge of anger, but she breathed deep to snuff it out. _Keep calm, this probably isn’t what it looks like._ “Kids, what happened?” she asked quietly. 

No response was forthcoming. “Naruto, Hinata,” she tried again, “what happened? Did someone do this to you?” Naruto’s expression was flat, defeated. Hinata,, on the other hand, looked terrified. _Did she do this to my son? Did they get in a fight?!_ Kushina let the though roll in her head; it made no sense. Hinata adored Naruto. In fact, she was pretty sure the little girl had feelings for him beyond simple friendship. 

“Kushina,” Minato put his hands on Naruto’s shoulders, “let me take him to the upstairs bathroom and get him patched up.” His voice was calm, no indication of judgement or other negativity. “Can you look after Hinata down here?”

“Of course,” she nodded. 

* * *

Lord Hokage Minato Namikaze had dealt with many things in his life: The Third Shinobi War, Obito’s betrayal, and binding Kuruma to Naruto. None of it prepared him for seeing his son like this. _Was I wrong pulling Kakashi off protection detail? Should we have waited another year before sending him to the academy? Am I really being too hands off as a father?_ A whirlpool of self-recriminations swirled in Minato’s head as he dabbed a moist washcloth on Naruto’s fattened lip.

“Ouch!” his boy jerked back.

“Naruto, I’ve got to get it cleaned off and check you for other injuries,” he said patiently.

“Hinata already told me I had no broke bones, and my nose wasn’t broke!” Naruto said, some of his energy returning. Until now, his boy sounded as beaten down as he looked. Minato was at least grateful to her a trip to the emergency room wasn’t in order yet.

“Here,” Minato handed him a moist washcloth, “pinch your nose gently and hold it. It should stop bleeding in a minute or two.” 

Minato turned his attention to a small cut above Naurto’s now purple right eye. A few short dabs with the cloth, and the blood was gone. The injury was already healing, as he knew it would. Even still, he put a butterfly bandage to firmly clamp the wound closed. Naruto’s unique chakra would heal minor wounds like a papercut in a minute. Even fairly large cuts like this would be gone in an hour. Minato guessed a mild bone break would heal in about a week – much faster than normal. 

“Dad, is this going to scar?”

Minato smiled, “No son, you’ll have your handsome face back by tomorrow, and no black eye to show for it.”

“Aww, I want a scar,” Naruto finally smiled, “Sasuke tells me girls like guys with scars!”

_That Uchiha boy is going to be trouble; I just know it. Time to nip this in the bud._ “You want to know a little secret I learned growing up about that?” Minato asked.

“Sure Dad!” Naruto’s enthusiasm was suddenly contagious.

“Well you see,” he paused, “In order to share it, you have to agree to tell me something in return.” Minato smiled with the right corner of his mouth. “Fair?” he extended hand to shake on the deal.

“Fair, but you first,” Naruto said, taking his dad’s hand.

“Okay, so the secret about the whole scar thing that Sasuke is telling you,” he whispered, looking over his shoulder like he was expecting someone was listening in. He waved his hand for Naruto to get closer, “Well, you know how he seemed to be popular with all the girls in preschool and at the academy today?” Naruto nodded. “The whole scar thing is a trap he’s setting for you guys! Girls like guys with scars, but by the time you’re old enough to date, scars are major turn-off!”

“No way!” Naruto whispered incredulously.

“Way,” Minato replied, trying to keep himself from laughing, “when girls become young ladies, they consider scars on guys a sign that they do dumb stuff and get hurt all the time. Why do you think Kakashi never has a girlfriend? One bad scar, not even his fault and that was it!” He waved his hands into a shrug. Minato felt bad throwing Kakashi under the bus. Despite the man’s propensity for reading adult books, he displayed no outward attraction toward anyone. _Losing loved ones at a young age will do that!_

Minato pushed the thought aside and decided to go for a home run, “Sasuke is trying to spoil you so when he’s old enough he can snatch up any girl he wants with no competition.” Minato grinned, “I think he has a thing Hinata for instance!”

“It won’t happen!” Naruto said nasally through the washcloth on his nose. He stood up, full on ready to get back into the fight, “Let’s get this face cleaned up!” He raised his free arm into the air with his hand a fist. 

_Using a rival as a motivator, works every time with young boys!_ Minato laughed gently, “Speaking of Sasuke,” he stared at his son, “he wasn’t the one who did this to you, was he?” Minato proceeded to wipe away remaining blood on Naruto’s face and hands.

“No Dad, there were three of ‘em! Sasuke wasn’t one of them” Naruto snorted. His eyes beamed like he had won the fight – something that clearly had not happened.

“Three of them!” Minato cocked up an eyebrow. He didn’t know if he should be impressed, worried, or both. Naruto wasn’t prone to acts of complete stupidity like picking a fight with three guys to just him alone. Minato suddenly turned his thoughts to Hinata, wondering how she fit into all of this. Clearly, she hadn’t hurt Naruto, but he needed to be sure she didn’t do anything to start this.

“Okay, tell me the story then; how did you come to fight three ninjas?” He used the term ninjas loosely. Naruto was bound to correct him if he made it sound more heroic than it actually was.

The mild stroke to his ego did the trick, “Nah, it was just a few older kids; I’m not sure they’re even from the academy.”

“Uh huh,” Minato nodded.

Naruto looked up at him with enormous eyes, “Anyhow, on the way home, they started picking on Hinata – making fun of her eyes and stuff, calling her an ugly monster and stuff!” His boy clenched his fists, making red, swollen knuckles turn white. Despite his clear anger, Naruto’s voice sounded a lot more like pleading.

“Did they now?” Minato was taken back to the time when Kushina first transferred to the academy. Day one, and boys and girls started teasing her about her vibrant red hair. She had proceeded to beat the crap out of the kids, and she spent her first day in detention. 

“So, I had to step in!” Naruto snorted through the towel on his nose.

“You can take that off, son,” Minato said, “and tell me what happened next.”

Naruto removed the bloody rag, his nose no longer dripping. “Well, I told them off, to leave her alone or they’d be dealing with the next Hokage!” Minato smiled. His son certainly had conviction. “And they started getting closer to me, like they wanted to start something.”

“So, you beat the crap out of them?” Minato asked, feeling uncertain where this was going. Clearly, his question was way off the mark.

“Well, you see… I tried summoning shadow clones to even our numbers…” Naruto nervously trailed off, looking at the ground.

Naruto clearly had eyes bigger than his stomach; shadow clone jutsu was difficult for an academy graduate sometimes, much less a day one student. “And what happened?” Minato asked, trying to avoid judging his son’s overly ambitious intentions.

Naruto couldn’t meet his eyes. “Eh… the clones came our real small, like the size of an action figures… They started laughing and that’s when it came to fisticuffs.” Naruto sounded choked, like he was about to start crying.

“Judging by your appearance,” Minato paused, “it didn’t go so well?”

“It started fine, I used a few of the moves Kakashi taught me, and I really got stuck in with them, but…” Naruto sighed, sitting on the floor, looking glum. 

“But one of them pinned you down while the others proceeded to pound on you?” Minato finished this familiar story.

“How did you know that?” Naruto still looked sad, but also amazed that his dad could pick up on how this shook out.

“Son,” Minato rubbed the back of his head, “I wasn’t always the Hokage, and I did get my butt beat more than a few times, especially when I was about your age.”

Naruto began looking a little hopeful, finally meeting his eyes. “So, you’re not angry that I got into a fight and lost?”

Minato sighed, “Naruto, I’m disappointed that the fight happened, but I’m not disappointed in you, or your ability to hold your own in a fight.”

“But Dad,” Naruto cried, “I lost; I got pounded into hamburger, and my scarf… aren’t you ashamed of me!”

“But you’re alive, and you’re a better man than I was at that age.” Minato put his hands over his son’s shoulders. 

“What do you mean?” Naruto looked puzzled.

Minato sat down on the bathroom floor next to his son. “When I was older than you, a similar thing happened to your mom.” Minato took his turn to look down at the tile floor, feeling ashamed years later that he didn’t step in then. “A bunch of kids were bullying her over her hair, calling her names, and I stood by and did nothing.”

“Nothing?” Naruto said confused.

“Nothing, nada; I sat on my hands and watched as they pushed her buttons, and she proceeded to beat the crap out of them!”

“Why did you do nothing, Dad?” Naruto’s voice became concerned.

“Because at that time I was a coward. I was scared what the other kids would say if I stood up for her; heck, I was scared about getting beaten up, myself!”

“But Dad, you’re the Hokage!” Naruto screeched.

Minato raised a finger, “But I wasn’t then. Back then, I was just another kid at the academy.” He put his arm around his son, hugging him close, “Son, I’m proud that you stood up for Hinata; it was very brave thing for you to do.” He paused, “That said, you might want to hold off testing your jutsus until you get them down solid.”

“Okay,” Naruto nodded. 

Minato could tell he was still worried about getting in trouble for losing the fight or being in it. _That still doesn’t explain everything, though._ Minato was reluctant to ask his lingering question, “But if you were getting pounded on, why does Hinata have beat up knuckles?” The more Minato thought about it, the more nightmare scenarios began running through his head. She was carrying part of Kurama’s chakra, and it had manifested once before.

Naruto looked into his father’s eyes, almost looking frightened in his own right. “You… might have to ask her yourself.” Naruto said nervously. “I was passed out in the snow, but it sounded like she took all three of them on by herself!”


	9. Nine

Chapter Nine

Kushina sat a very tearful Hinata down on the couch in the living room and sat next to her. It was déjà vu from her third birthday – Hinata curled up, scared almost to the point of being catatonic. If she was going to get her to open up, she needed to move quickly but delicately. Kushina quickly ran to the kitchen for a clean washcloth and sat next to the very frightened little girl. “Hinata, I’m going to wipe the blood off of you, just hold still, okay?” She nodded that she understood. 

Kushina checked her carefully, but there was no sign of injury, except for knuckles swollen from have punched into something or someone. “Hinata,” Kushina went for her most motherly tone, “I need you to tell me what happened.”

Hinata shut her eyes, shaking her head violently and drawing into a ball. 

_Okay, different approach!_ “Hinata,” she gently massaged the girl’s back, “I know you don’t want to talk, but if I ask a question, can you shake or nod your head,” Kushina mimicked the movements, “so I can get a better idea what happened?”

Nod.

_Progress, finally!_ “Okay, this blood, it’s not yours; is it Naruto’s?”

Shake. Hinata began breathing rapidly, about to hyperventilate from the suggestion. 

“Are you scared?”

She nodded.

“Of Naruto?”

Shake.

“Of me?”

“Auntie Kushina, I couldn’t be scared of you!” Hinata cried. “You’re always so good to me.” Hinata hugged herself close to Kushina. It was true, she did treat Hinata like the daughter she never had, would never have. Tears of jealousy began welling up that she would never hold her own little girl like she once dreamed of. 

_Get a hold of yourself! You’ll make her worse if you don’t keep it together!_ “Hinata, I’m going to make a promise to you, okay?” Hinata nodded. “I’m the First Lady to the Lord Hokage; my word is just as good as his.” She paused, locking eyes with the still scared child, “Whatever happened out there is done; we can’t undo it.” Kushina held out her pinky finger, “I promise that no matter what you tell me now, you won’t get in trouble for it from me, or my husband, or your parents; but you have to tell me everything. Can you do that?”

Hinata curled her pinky finger around Kushina’s. _Good girl!_ “We were walking home from school, and three older boys started teasing me, started calling me names, making fun of my eyes!” Hinata’s voice became shrill. “N-Naruto told them to stop, but they attacked him instead!” Hinata began bawling again; Kushina handed her the rag. “H-he tried fighting back but there were three of them! They started really beating him; one tore up his scarf and started to choke him with part of it!”

_My god!_ Kushina stood, rolling her sleeves, “Hinata, where are these boys! They are about to learn why you don’t fuck with the Hokage’s son!!!” Her cheeks turned red from anger as much as embarrassment. She shouldn’t have sworn in front of Hinata. “Please,” her voice softened, “forgive my language.” She blushed, “But they did something really bad and could have very seriously hurt Naruto and the village, you know. They need to be punished for what they did to you two.”

“They’re about halfway to the school on the woodland trail, all three passed out in the snow!” Hinata cried, burying her face in her knees.

“Huh?” Kushina wrinkled her forehead in confusion. The words caused a cold tingle to trace down her spine. Kushina took several moments to put it together, but she thought back to two years ago, and it started making sense. She knelt in front of Hinata again, putting her hands over Hinata’s smaller hands. “Hinata, is that why you were covered in blood? It was from these boys?”

“I-I didn’t mean to!” she sniveled, “I was so ashamed, sitting there in the snow like a baby in a wet diaper, watching them hurt poor Naruto!” Hinata heaved several deep breathes before continuing. “S-something in me caught on fire,” she stammered, “my-my Byakugan activated, and I felt really, really mad! I hit two boys in their chakra points and the other, their leader, peed his pants and ran! But I didn’t let him get away!” She wailed. “I kept punching, and punching until my fingers turned red, and I hit one of his chakra points! I-I know he’s still alive! He was still breathing!”

“Oh, my dear,” Kushina hugged Hinata closely. Kushina, herself, started crying, feeling the weight of what she had forced inot one, but two children to endure. “Shhh….” She ran her fingers through Hinata’s hair. “Shhhh… it’s okay Hinata, it’s okay.” Kushina kept her voice low, calming. She let Hinata cry her tears out for a while before saying anything else. “You did nothing wrong, Hinata, you protected my son and yourself.”

“But Auntie Kushina, I couldn’t… I didn’t…”

Kushina put her index finger on her lips, “I know you didn’t mean to lose control, but you need to understand this right now: you… did… nothing… wrong!” Kushina’s own tears threatened to overwhelm her to the point where Hinata handed her back the rag. “Thank you!” Kushina felt the slightest bit of jealousy at Akemi and Hiashi’s luck to have such a kind, thoughtful daughter. 

“Auntie Kushina, I’m scared!” Hinata began crying again. 

“Hinata, why are you scared?” Kushina hugged her closely, “tell me what made you scared?”

“I-I’m not,” Hinata struggled, clearly searching for her thoughts. “I’m not a great ninja like you or Father, or Lord Fourth!” She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t… I don’t ever want to do what I did ever again! A-and that would make daddy so upset!!!”

For a moment, Kushina was the same little girl who cried when Grandma Mito told her she’d be the next jinchuriki for Nine-Tails – having responsibility for something so dangerous thrust on her without her consent. She thought back to the terrible first day at the academy, unable to let bullies’ taunts go unanswered – her inability to control her anger. She thought back to her current situation, an Uzimaki that was crippled in terms of being able to use chakra. The little girl before her needed someone to guide her, or she, too, would grow up to be helpless.

“Hinata, I want you to stop thinking that you did something bad,” Kushina gently tapped the girl’s nose. “You protected the Hokage’s son, my son, from serious harm when he was defenseless. Many shinobi go their whole lives without ever being able to claim such an accomplishment!” Kushina’s fire was back. She knew Hiashi Hyūga meant well, but as an instructor, he was definitely not good with kids, especially when it came to emotional issues. “And I want you to stop worrying that you have no control; you are going to the academy to learn control. Do you think your dad, Minato, or I were born perfect, knowing everything?” She paused to let the words sink in.

“Auntie Kushina, why is this happening to me?” Hinata stared with her large, hypnotically mysterious eyes. “This always happens when bad things happen! It’s like a curse! I feel like…”

“Like you can hear a voice in your head calling you to take action you wouldn’t normally take? That you can smell danger approaching? Feeling your chakra boil out of control when you’re provoked? Feeling uncontrollably strong, like raw energy pulsating through you?” Kushina said, describing the sensation of tapping Kyuubi’s chakra. 

“How—How do you know,” Hinata asked, going from tearful to curious. 

Kushina slid back on the couch, next to Hinata, considering the gravity of what she was about to tell a five-year-old. “Hinata, do you know the story of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon?”

“Kyuubi?” Hinata asked curiously. “Every child knows that legend.”

Kushina nodded, “The Tailed-Beasts aren’t legends, Hinata. Did you ever wonder why there was a seal on your tummy?”

Hinata’s eyes opened wider, and her jaw dropped. “How did you…”

“I could lie and remind you I babysat for your mom many times when you were only a toddler. I changed you and bathed you alongside my son. But you deserve the truth,” Kushina said as she pulled her blouse up, revealing the seal and scar on her stomach before covering it again. “Naruto has one like this, too.”

“H-how?” Hinata stammered.

“Hinata,” Kushina pulled her close, “this has to be a secret, not even your mom or dad can know I told you this, okay?” Hinata nodded, now entranced by what she was learning. It was normal for a jinchuriki to go from denial to curiosity in short order. Kushina continued, “I was the jinchuriki for Kyuubi, essentially his living prison. To a limited extent, I could control him and use his chakra.” 

“But what happened?” Hinata asked, tilting her head to the side.

Kushina sighed, reliving the horrible event, as she leaned back on the sofa. “The night Naruto was born, a bad man, one of my husband’s former students, attacked us. He almost killed Naruto and me; he would have succeeded if not for Kakashi!” Kushina wiped away tears. “You saw my scar; I was injured badly. And my chakra network was damaged by his attack. I could no longer hold Nine-Tails, at least not all of him. I almost died.”

“How… did I come into this story?” Hinata asked, chewing her thumb nervously. 

“Your mom was still carrying you inside her when she agreed to help transfer Kyuubi’s chakra into Naruto – he was the only one we knew could hold Kyuubi safely. Even then it wasn’t enough. Naruto could only hold half and my seal couldn’t hold my half. Somehow, you started absorbing Kyuubi without being prompted. Your mom sealed about half of what I still carried in you.” Kushina gently caressed the side of Hinata’s face, “So you see, it’s my fault that these things are happening to you! I-I never wanted this for you or Naruto!” Kushina now went to the waterworks. 

“Auntie Kushina!” Hinata hugged her now. 

“Because of my injury,” Kushina choked, “I have great trouble using chakra. I can’t use the remaining part of Kyuubi because of how he’s sealed in me now. I can’t give Naruto a little brother or sister because of how badly it would weaken me and the seal. But the worst part is how helpless I feel when I see you and Naruto struggle because of me!”

“Auntie Kushina!” Hinata embrace her tighter, “it’s all right. You never meant to hurt anyone; I know!”

“Hinata,” Kushina began finding her composure again. “This is not a curse, as much as it feels like one.” She rocked Hinata gently, “In time, it will be a gift unlike any other.”

“A-a gift?” Hinata stammered, sounding confused.

“When you grow older, Hinata,” Kushina sat Hinata across her lap. “Your chakra reserves will be stronger than anyone’s, except maybe Naruto’s. And once you learn to control your chakra,” Kushina paused, again hugging Hinata, “You’ll have the strength to protect those you care about most.” Kushina smirked, “People like Naruto.”

Hinata’s reaction was as expected. The little girl’s eyes filled with wonderment and her lips parted. “P-protect Naruto…” Hinata’s cheeks turned pink as she contemplated the possibility. 

Kushina was no fool; she knew Hinata had a crush on Naruto – Hinata’s reaction confirmed it. She suspected Naruto deep down felt the same. The two had been inseparable after surviving both the kidnapping and assassination attempt two years ago. Kushina wondered if Kyuubi’s chakra somehow linked them beyond the shared burden they carried. “Hinata, I know this is a lot to take in, ya know!” Kushina smiled, “I’ll never have a daughter of my own, but I promise…” Kushina paused hoping she wasn’t stepping over some line of propriety, “… I promise, that if you ever need someone to guide you, to teach you, I’ll be here for you.”

“Auntie Kushina!” Hinata smiled finally, “I’d like that! I’d like that a lot!”

Kushina heard Minato and Naruto come down the stairs. The phone in the kitchen rang as they approached. Minato answered it, “Uh huh… yeah, is that so,” he laughed slightly, “I’m pretty sure it’s nothing to worry about! Yes, you have a good night, too Kakashi!” He hung up the phone and started laughing like an idiot. 

“What’s so funny, dad?” Naruto asked. 

Minato laughed himself pink, “Apparently,” he laughed hysterically, “Three punk kids got picked up by military police for disorderly conduct.” He laughed so hard he began to cry, “A-apparently… “he heaved a few breaths, “they were spouting out something about being attacked by a purple-eye demon that stood eight feet tall!” Minato clutched his sides he was laughing so hard. 

Hinata stared at Minato and Kushina. Kushina bounced her gently on her knee, “It’s all right, you’re not in trouble, just like I said!”

“Hinata, why would you be in trouble?” Naruto asked, confused.

Kushina was happy to see her son’s injuries were already showing signs of healing. “She isn’t, and neither are you,” Kushina smiled at her son. “However, I think we all have something big we need to talk about,” Kushina stared at Minato. “Something we hoped we didn’t have to tell you about.” She stared back at Hinata, “Although I think we would be better discussing this over dinner. If your parents don’t mind, do you like curry?”

“If you made it Auntie Kushina, I’m sure it will be delicious!” Hinata smiled. Kushina had a feeling this was going to be an interesting dinner.

* * *

Lord Minato looked in on his son, now sleeping soundly in his bed. He looked so peaceful, like he didn’t have a care in the world. _To be young and unafraid of the world!_ Minato felt just a little jealous of his son’s innocence. Naruto had his whole life ahead, and he had not been to war. Minato didn’t want his son to walk this path. He wished he keep his son tucked away somewhere safe: no survival and evasion drills, no self-defense training, and no worrying about Nine-Tails.

Dinner had been quite the event. Minato was pretty sure Naruto still didn’t fully understand the gravity of what was happening – most five-year-old children couldn’t. Still, Naruto at least understood how important it was to keep Nine-Tails a secret. Naruto didn’t always understand much, but as a ninja in training, he understood how important the Hokage’s orders were. He admired that in his son.

“Hey,” his wife snuck up beside him, wrapping her arms around his arm. “You’re awfully tense, Lord Hokage.” She smiled coyly. Minato felt his heart pulsing as his wife rested her head on his shoulder. 

“Do you think it was a good idea to tell him?” he asked. When he and Naruto had come down the stairs, he hadn’t expected to have the conversation they had planned for when he was much older – at least halfway through the academy. Minato was no stranger to having actions circumstanced overtake plans.

“What choice did we have?” Kushina asked. “How long before he has a significant event like Hinata has?”

“He already did, remember,” he reminded her. “He tracked her scent to her the day she was kidnapped.” Minato knew where this was going. “I just worry that knowing will cause him unnecessary anxiety.”

“Not knowing has already caused Hinata great fear and pain,” Kushina corrected him. “Lord Hiashi wants to act like it isn’t there. You saw how much more alive and confident Hinata felt when she left, knowing she had people she could trust with the same. How could deny the same from our son? We can’t make this go away by pretending it doesn’t exist.”

“I know that, I just wish…” Minato trailed off, “I hope that we won’t cause more trouble than we prevent.” Minato started at his son, passed out drooling on his pillow. Someday, sooner rather than later, his son would have to lose the innocence Minato envied him for if he were to survive. 

“Can you imagine what trouble he’d get into if he found out the hard way, from someone else?”

“I only hope he isn’t as much trouble as you were,” Minato smirked as he looked at his wife, still wrapped around his arm.

Her reply was a mix of mock shock and innocence, “Me, trouble? I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, Lord Hokage.” She smiled a wolfish grin. She only called him Lord Hokage if they were in formal circumstances or if she was teasing him. Kushina love to tease. 

“I seem to remember a certain teenage girl who couldn’t keep her hands to herself after I rescued her from a bunch of Kumo Shinobi.” He closed the door to Naruto’s room and took her in his arms.

Kushina rubbed his chest. “I seem to remember a certain Lord Hokage,” she paused to nibble his ear. “Who would have left his son and friend’s daughter out in the cold to have squishy time, if I’d let him.”

Minato felt his cheeks turn red, “Perv,” he said.

“Fiend!” she whispered excitedly to his ear.

He stared into her violet blue eyes in the dark of the hallway. There was no need for words as he kissed her deeply. She clawed at his shirt now, pulling it away as they half-stumbled, half-walked to their bedroom. Everything he had felt earlier this afternoon had returned to him as if the interlude had not happened. This time, there was no family emergency or other crisis to extinguish. This time, there was just Kushina, him, and nothing but shadow between them as she forced him down on the bed and made love with him. 

Being here with her now took him away to another place where all the worries, all the weight of being Hokage fell away. He never had enough time to express how damn lucky he was to have her and Naruto. Even while things were far from perfect, this small celebration with her was all he needed to remember what was important in his life.

After they had finished, he was still holding her, reminding himself how lucky he was as she fell asleep, pressed up against him. He again renewed his commitment to her as he watched her dreaming. Minato tried keeping his eyes open just a little longer to watch her, but his eyelids slowly sank until there was only darkness and the warmth of her against him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: This chapter and the next 3-4 chapters set up a major divergence point from canon. My version of Hinata is more assertive at a younger age as a result of Kushina's influence and a few events to follow.


	10. Ten

Chapter Ten

Akemi Hyūga walked through the courtyard of where she grew herbs and flowers in the cold, early morning. There was still a nip in the air on this early March morning, and most of the plants that would regrow still lay dormant. Others would need to be planted as soon as the soil warmed enough to be worked. 

Even with so little to see now, she could imagine it in full bloom already. In another month, she would plant early spring crops, probably daikon radish and some greens, in the small section she had reserved for Hinata. Lavender would come soon after. After that, sunflowers, basil, peppers, and a few other fragrant varieties of flowers.

She sat on a bench, contemplating her future. Her husband had given this plot to her as a wedding present, had built it to her specifications. She loved Hiashi very much, but even still, she often felt like she didn’t belong in this family. She was no ninja, having come from outside the village. She had trained as a midwife and had come to Konoha when she was only twenty, fresh from being certified. That was when she met him – handsome, quiet, but secretly wild at heart. 

Akemi felt her heart flutter like it had the first time she saw him, when she first met his sister-in-law. Akemi was kept on as a retainer for Hizashi’s wife, guiding her through a difficulty pregnancy plagued by diabetes and other pregnancy-related complications. It was a miracle Hizashi’s wife had survived Neji’s birth. For almost three months after, she stayed on for aftercare for the new mother, sometimes serving as a wet nurse to Neji. 

After a little over a year with the family, Akemi was about to leave for a new assignment in another village when Hiashi brought her to this very spot, sitting on this very bench when he asked her not to go. He made his feelings known, and she had made hers known. They shared their first kiss on this very spot. She stayed on as a midwife at Konoha Hospital, and their relationship blossomed despite some level of disapproval from his father every step of the way.

Akemi felt the cool air nip at her despite the heavy robe she wore. Her father-in-law had several times told Hiashi to call it off, that he was to marry someone else. Several times, Hiashi threatened to abandon his clan if his father didn’t back off. The two came to blows when the unmarried couple came to him to ask permission to marry – Akemi almost a month into her pregnancy with Hinata. Hiashi dueled with his father and won, to the surprise of many. Hiashi became the clan leader at the ripe age for twenty-three and became a father shortly after turning twenty-four. 

The wind cut her again, chilling her to the bone. The cold air made her feel weak and weary despite the early hour of morning. Ever since giving birth to her second daughter, Hanabi, almost a year earlier, things had been increasingly difficult. The pregnancy and labor had been difficult. In the recovery period afterwards, she had to call in a wet nurse several times when she, herself, couldn’t nurse Hanabi. She had considered calling Kushina but did not want to impose on her; Kushina had been training her son as well as Hinata at times. Akemi did not want to keep running to her friend every time something was going less than ideal. 

Akemi looked again at the garden. Hinata had been an excellent helper last year, easily ready for the plot she had set aside for her. Akemi was pretty sure, more and more of this garden would be Hinata’s this year with how weak she was still feeling. More frustrating than dealing with how cold Hiashi was turning toward Hinata lately, Akemi felt useless to step in. She wasn’t springing back like she’d expected too. She had little doubt that she was the weakest link in this family. 

“Mommy,” a soft voice carried from her left. Hinata was dressed for school, her bag over her shoulders. She looked cute as a button. “Yes little one,” Akemi replied. 

“Mommy, I-I…” Hinata stammered the way she did when she was nervous. “I need to ask you something.” Her little girl tucked her hands behind her, her stare remained locked on her. 

Akemi barely noticed it at first, but Hinata had her Byakugan activated. While she was glad her daughter was less scared to embrace it than she had been before, Akemi worried what secrets the little girl might learn throughout the compound now that she could see everything. “What is it, small flower?”

“Mommy, what’s that?” Hinata innocently pointed to the left fold of Akemi’s robe. 

Akemi looked down, expecting to see a stain or something wrong with the robe. Seeing nothing, she began to feel a bit embarrassed. Hinata was obviously curious. “What is what?” she asked innocently?”

“That round thing in your left breast mom,” Hinata said, “You don’t have it on your right, and it’s a color I haven’t seen in anyone’s chakra before.”

Akemi’s heart stopped for a moment. Like tumblers in a lock, everything began to line up to a horrific conclusion – the fatigue, the body aches, the sensation of being sick all the time. She had thought it was some delayed after effect from the pregnancy – postpartum depression or otherwise. Akemi stood up, turning away from Hinata, and reaching into her robe discretely with her right hand. It was there: hard, immovable, and about the size of small walnut. _Oh gods!_

She turned back at Hinata and froze. Everything flashed before her as she contemplated her daughters growing up without her. She couldn’t let it happen. She needed to be ready. She needed someone to talk to. She couldn’t let Hinata know what was happening. “Hinata, I want you to go to school, okay?”

“Okay mommy… is… everything all right?”

“Everything is fine sweetheart,” she lied, trying to restrain tears. “Go on, Auntie Kushina might be picking you up from reading class today, okay?”

“All right,” Hinata smiled, hugging her mom. “I love you, mommy!”

“I love you, too, sweetheart!” Akemi watched her daughter run on her way to school. The moment felt surreal, like the world had gone mad, and she was seeing things in slow motion. 

Akemi didn’t remember going to the phone or dialing the number, but it was the next place she found herself listening to the drone of the dial tone. “Hello,” Kushina’s voice came softly.

“Kushina!” she cried, finally breaking down.

“Akemi?” Kushina sounded shocked, “What’s wrong, are you okay?”

“Kushina!” Akemi tried to compose herself. “I-I need a favor; I need help!”

“Anything,” her friend sounded concerned, “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“H-Hinata,” Akemi struggled through tears, “was using her Byakugan and spotted something in my left breast this morning. I felt a lump when I checked it!”

Silence filled the air for a long moment. Even through it, they shared the understanding of a probable breast cancer diagnosis. “Akemi, hang up immediately and call Lady Tsunade’s office!” Kushina commanded. “Don’t take no for an answer, get in an see her TODAY!!!”

“Kushina… thank you… thank you for taking such good care of Hinata!”

“Thank me after Tsunade has everything under control, now get to it!!!” her friend ordered. 

“Hinata has a reading class after school will you –” Akemi didn’t finish before being cut off, “I’ll get her home from school! Now hang up and make the call.”

The line went dead as she tapped the receiver. She called the hospital and asked to speak to Tsunade immediately, that it was urgent. The hold time was short but agonizing. “Akemi?” Tsunade’s voice finally came through after what had felt forever. 

A quick explanation later, there was silence for the longest second of her life to date. “Akemi, get yourself to my office, right now! There might be a short wait, but I’ll see you right away!” The stress in Tsunade’s voice suggested she too thought time was critical. “If you want, bring your husband, if not, come alone, but hurry, please!”

“I’ll there shortly!” Akemi hung up the phone, ran to her room to grab her purse and a jacket, and she made for the door. She hoped they weren’t already too late. 

* * *

Naruto struggled through the pop quiz that Instructor Mizuki had sprung on them. _How the heck did this get so hard! A few months ago, this was easy!_ In pre-school, basic word and picture books came easy, and Naruto loved to read. He loved to read to his mom as much as she loved to read to him. He wasn’t sure what changed, but it changed about a week after starting the academy. 

“Class, there is now three minutes left, please start wrapping it up!” Mizuki Sensei called out. Naruto looked up. Mizuki’s eyes were locked on him, a broad smile on his face. Something about his eyes made Naruto’s right hand shake as he tried to fill in the answer to the question. _Dang it! I’m not even half-done!_ The words on the page began washing together, and their meanings became obscured as a result.

_Dammit you used to be so good at this!_ Naruto felt himself getting ready to cry. Except, he knew the other students would make fun of him and laugh again, like had happened last week. _When did I suddenly become stupid!_

“Time is up! Please turn in your papers down to the left!” Mizuki called. A lone tear traced down Naruto’s cheek. It was followed by another, and another, and another. Pretty soon, he was crying as papers were passed at him. He couldn’t do this!

“Mister Uzimaki!” Mizuki called with venomous eyes. “Do not make me repeat myself! Turn the papers down to the left of you’ll find yourself in the headmaster’s office again!”

He could hear laughter. It began small, but it soon built like a torrent of flames. The room was spinning and on fire, and he felt a disgusting feeling in his gut as the laughter made the room flashover. 

He didn’t remember springing from his seat or running to the restroom. When he did regain his sense of self, he found himself crying over a toilet filled with his vomit. He didn’t want to be here! He didn’t want to be a ninja anymore!

The thought pressed against his unsettled stomach. He could hear his father and mother telling them how ashamed they were of him for being a failure. He threw up again. When he finished, he could hear Mizuki chiding him for making a mess and making an emotional scene. The tears began flowing freely now. 

There was a hand on his shoulder, “Hey, Naruto, you okay?” The voice was soft but masculine.

Naruto looked up from the toilet bowl to see a boy with jet-black hair and hard features. “Sasuke!” he heaved. Naruto felt dizzy. 

“Come on,” his friend offered a hand, helping him up. “Don’t worry about instructor Mizuki, he’s got a corncob up his ass!”

“Sasuke, you shouldn’t talk like that,” Naruto said as he steadied himself. “What if your parents were told?”

“They wouldn’t care, especially my father,” Sasuke scoffed. Naruto knew what Sasuke was talking about. The few times he had gone over to play ninja, Sasuke’s father’s, Fugaku, treated him with the same regard as some shadow on a wall. He knew through Dad that Sasuke’s father was some kind of cop. Like his own dad, Naruto could tell Sasuke’s dad was away from home a lot because of work. Unlike his dad, something about Mr. Uchiha remined Naruto of Uncle Hiashi – definitely not Mister Sunshine. 

“Thanks, Sasuke,” Naruto smiled at his friend.

“Yah, whatever,” Sasuke said, walking away, “See ya around.” As Sasuke walked away, Naruto looked in the bathroom mirror. His eyes were red from crying, from staying up late with his nose in a book trying to figure out what he was missing, and from secretly skipping or fleeing classes like he did to have a breakdown like he just had. He looked awful. _No retreat, no falling back; you’re staying here tonight until you get it right!_ “A ninja never gives up,” he said to his reflection, “and I never go back on my word! Believe it!” Naruto put on his best smile and gently fist-bumped his reflection. 

* * *

The tension in the Hokage’s office was palpable. The acid in Minato’s stomach was rising with the odiousness of the task in front of him. Three members of the ANBU stood in front of him. Kakashi, standing on the far left, wore only a half face mask. His face was expressionless, but Minato knew there was a sea of emotions at play behind the man’s lifeless eyes.

Another ANBU agent stood to Minato’s far right, wearing a white porcelain animal mask. Diminutive in comparison to his companions, Minato knew better than to underestimate the young man. He was one of the best ANBU in the history of the service, and he was the youngest person to ever join the ANBU.

The real knife in the chest was having Danzo Shimura standing before him. Danzo was the head of the ANBU. He was also the subject of this meeting. “Lord Hokage, this is an unexpected surprise,” Danzo said. 

Something about the man’s mannerisms put Minato off. Every word from the man’s lips had double meanings, and every action he took frequently had hidden intentions behind it. Until two days ago, Minato had put it off as eccentricity. There had been plenty of implications in the past, but Minato had real proof of wrongdoing, and he needed to know how bad the situation was. “Danzo, please take a seat, there is something we need to discuss,” Minato extended his hand toward the chair placed in front of his desk. 

Danzo sat, not taking his eyes off of Minato once. “To do what do I owe the honor, sir?” Danzo’s expression was stony, like an angry version of Hiashi Hyūga’s face. Danzo was revered for both being an effective and a ruthless leader. Lord Third had relied heavily on him during the War. 

However, whatever honorable service Danzo had rendered in the past, recent events in the present had now thoroughly overshadowed anything positive he had done. “Danzo, I’ve heard some very disturbing rumors lately.”

“Such as?” Danzo gave nothing away.

“Such as you’ve been taking children from orphanages, and have been associating with known criminals,” Minato tried but failed to avoid sounding judgmental.

“I merely seek to act in the best interests of this village.”

“So do I,” Minato responded curtly, “but we can’t do what is best for our village if we abandon the principles of our village – principles like the Will of Fire! Everyone in this village is family; we can’t protect any of them if we start treating them like pawns on a shogi board!” Minato’s voice began rising slowly with anger seeping out of the place he kept it hidden.

“And what would you have us do, Lord Hokage?” Danzo became gruff in tone, like a drill instructor, “Make peace with the Kumo, perhaps have the Fourth Raikage as our honored guest, drinking our tea after how many shinobi died trying to defeat him!”

“If we abandon our principles, we are no better than our enemies…” A tiny ember began burning inside Minato’s chest. Minato knew Danzo had been jealous, but he hadn’t expected him to take such drastic steps to undermine a seated Hokage. Several times Danzo had been investigated for undermining other officials, and it had always come to nothing. Minato didn’t want to believe what he knew, but now, he truly wondered what the man was capable of. “… of course, you already know that.” Minato glared at Danzo with a fury that could have ignited the other man. “Before he was handed over for execution, the backup shinobi from the Kumogakure group that tried kidnapping the Hyūga heir admitted he had inside help – from someone high up in our security apparatus!”

“That’s hearsay, anyone could have helped, or no one could have helped!”

“And yet, you were in charge of the ANBU, and you were caught flat-footed!” As damning as the implication was, Minato knew that wasn’t even the worst of it.

“I don’t have eyes everywhere, LORD HOKAGE!!!” Danzo roared as he stood up. 

“Sit… your… ass… DOWN!!!” Minato roared louder, pounding a hand on the desk. Kakashi and the other ANBU agent obliged when Danzo refused. “You say you don’t have eyes everywhere,” Minato heaved a few deep breathes, “then why the hell do you have your little private army!”

Danzo betrayed a momentary shock in his eyes, “I don’t know…”

“I know about Root!” Minato cut him off. “I know about your little experiments with Orochimaru – kidnapping children and turning them into weapons or private soldiers!” Minato curled his lips in anger. “In the name of god, WHY!!!”

“I was protecting our village! Did you forget about that!” Danzo said indignantly.

“From whom!” Minato pounded his hand on the desk again, “Certainly not the Kumo; you were willing to hand Hinata over to them, my goddaughter, you son of a bitch!” the ember of fury turned into a massive inferno. “They were going to cut her eyes out!” Minato’s voice cracked as he tried to keep himself from yelling, “And when they failed at that they tried to murder her, my wife, and my son!” His voiced quavered and finally released like a volcano erupting, “AT WHAT POINT DID THIS NOT CROSS OVER A LINE!!!”

“You only have the proof of a known liar,” Danzo scoffed, “If it meant opening your eyes to danger and keeping the village safe…”

“Safe?” Minato laughed, “Like how you planned on keeping us all safe from the Uchiha Clan?” Minato folded his hands together in front of him.

Danzo finally reacted with true shock in his expression. _Bingo!_ “Oh yes, I know about it.” Minato smiled like a viper about to strike. “I know you were encouraging the talk of a coup” Minato rose from his seat, “just like you were getting your team ready to expose the coup and preparing to slaughter all of them – down to women and children.”

Danzo shifted uncomfortably in the chair. “I-I don’t know…”

Minato walked around his desk and stalked closer to Danzo, “What was the plan, Danzo, pretend you put down a coup and smear me so you could sit in this chair? Stir them up and let them kill me, and then betray them after the fact?” Minato stood behind Danzo, waiting for a reaction.

“You listen to me, impudent one,” Danzo stood, “All you have are accusations with no witnesses, and no credible evidence!”

Before Minato could reply, the masked ANBU operative drew a kunai and held it to Danzo’s throat. “He has me!” the young man’s voice burned with the fury of a dormant volcano becoming active again. Itachi Uchiha pulled back his mask, his face creased with disgust. “You told me my father and my family were a threat, that you had the Hokage’s orders! You didn’t! You just wanted me to kill them all so you didn’t have blood on your hands!”

“They are a threat,” Danzo growled in return.

The kunai dug in enough that blood began dripping from Danzo’s neck, “A threat you manufactured! My father had no intention of going through with the coup, but you were going to force it anyway, you rotten bastard!” Itachi snarled. “You were going to kill my parents, my cousins, and my little brother AND FOR WHAT!!!”

Minato couldn’t begin to fathom what the young man was going through. Three days ago, a guilt-ridden Itachi came to him, begging Minato to reconsider his order to murder the entire Uchiha Clan. Both men were shocked by the order, as it had never existed. When Itachi explained everything, he had called in Kakashi. Minato had already been concerned Danzo was doing something unsanctioned, and had Kakashi infiltrate Danzo’s private organization, Root, posing as an informant in the Hokage’s office. While Kakashi had been building a case to sanction Danzo, neither he nor Minato was ready to confront a wholesale conspiracy to commit mass murder.

“I was serving the best interests of the village…” the drone line spilled from Danzo’s lips – well rehearsed. The words were as empty as Danzo.

“Is that your answer for everything,” tears and snot were streaming down Itachi’s scarlet red face. He was heaving loudly, and the red Sharringan of his eyes activated. Things were about to get out of control.

“Itachi, you’re a man of peace,” Minato spoke slowly, “Would Sasuke want to know his brother had become a killer?”

The Kunai withdrew, leaving a pinprick of blood on the left side of of Danzo’s neck. “I knew you didn’t have the guts to kill me, none of you do! I—oomph!”

Danzo’s speech was cut short as Minato activated Wood Release: Chair Trap on the man. The wooden chair sprouted thick branches, wrapping around Danzo’s arms, hands, legs, neck, and mouth. Minato’s heart thundered in his chest with the effort it took. “I must admit,” Minato heaved, “That, was harder than expected!” He breathed as if he’d run up the side of a mountain. Sweat was pouring down his face. He hunched over for a moment to catch his breath. 

Danzo’s eyes were wide with terror. Even Kakashi and Itatchi stood statue-frozen. “It’s too difficulty to be practical in battle,” Minato braced himself against the desk as he staggered back to his chair. “Still, I couldn’t help but see if your little experiment had worked!” he sighed. Lady Tsunade had chastised him for testing such an unproven and dangerous thing as bonding some of the First Hokage’s cells to his own right hand. Surprisingly, he survived the bonding process just fine; however, the amount of chakra it took from him effectively rendered him useless for anything more in battle.

A knock at the door, distracted them, “Come in Fugaku!” Minato called aloud. The head of the Konoha Military Police and current leader of the Uchiha Clan entered the room, looking serious, almost constipated. Minato smiled, “Good to see you, alive, old friend!”

“No thanks to him,” he gestured toward the now ensnared Danzo. “The Castle with him?”

“Yes,” Minato finally felt his heart rate return to normal. “He’s too dangerous to keep here.”

“I’ll see to it,” Fugaku Uchiha bowed, “Thank you, Lord Hokage!”

“Fugaku, I’m still your friend, Minato!” he smiled. 

“We are in your debt, how can I ever repay you?” the clan leader asked.

“A request,” Minato replied, “Spend more time with your sons.” He smiled. “They’re only young once, and not long at that.” Fugaku smiled and bowed his head and took the prisoner from the room.

“Lord Hokage,” Itachi said, his cheeks still red even without tears. 

“Go on, Itachi.”

Itachi removed his mask and set it on the desk, “I don’t think I’m qualified to be ANBU anymore.”

“Personally, I was hoping you’d say that, Itachi.” Minato folded his hands in front of him. “I’ve a little project I thought someone like you would be suited for – no assassinations and no foreign espionage.”

The boy’s face brightened, “Internal law enforcement?”

“Investigation and enforcement, the Konoha Investigation Bureau.”

Itachi wrinkled his face, “Never heard of it.”

“It doesn’t exist yet,” Minato explained, “I was hoping you’d be one of our first field agents. I envisioned it for dealing with crime and internal security matters that were beyond the local constabulary but not requiring a military police response.”

Itachi smiled, “Count me in!”

“Glad to hear it!” Minato grinned, “Now go and see if you can keep that brother of yours out of trouble for five minutes; report to my office tomorrow morning!”

Itachi bowed and left. “Well, that just leaves me,” Kakashi said.

“Yes, it does,” Minato smiled.

“You could have taken him solo you know,” Kakashi said.

“I could have, but I wanted you watching to see how a Hokage handles delicate matters,” Minato leaned back, “Someday, you’ll probably be in this chair.”

“I hope not soon; although, I hear having a son takes years off your life!” both men laughed.

The intercom buzzed, “Lord Hokage, Iruka Umino is here.”

“Send him in!” he called into the machine. “Sorry Kakashi, next appointment, and I’m already late!” The men said their good-byes, and Kakashi left to be replaced by Iruka Umino of the Academy.

“Lord Hokage,” Iruka bowed deeply. 

“From hellraiser and trickster to instructor in only five years!” Minato laughed, “Fate has a sense of humor!” Minato surveyed the once-rebellious pre-teen turned nineteen-year-old instructor. The kid still had the scar across his nose from playing with a shuriken instead of a training shuriken. He was handsome, with soft brown hair and easy brown eyes. 

Iruka blushed, “Sir, you requested my presence urgently. Is there something wrong with my teaching style?”

“No,” Minato quickly corrected, beckoning him closer, “Nothing wrong. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about a troubled student.”

“Which one?” Iruka chuckled. Minato understood why the students liked him, especially the troublesome ones.

“I’m told you’re a miracle worker with children who are not well-adapted to school,” Minato said.

“My reputation is vastly overstated,” Iruka replied with a sign, “I merely give the students the tools they need to succeed – nothing more or less.” He shrugged.

“My son, Iruka,” Minato sighed, leaning back in his chair “is in great need of those tools right now.”

“Naruto?” Iruka cocked up an eyebrow, “I looked at his entrance scores. Aside from some issues with molding chakra, and who wouldn’t have that problem that young, he tested to almost gifted levels,” Iruka paused to scratch his chin, “Are you sure he needs me?”

Minato leaned forward, bracing himself on his desk, “Iruka, he went from being happy and excited to go to the Academy to being a clam in a shell and fearful of going to school every morning. That doesn’t happen normally in children, does it?” Minato turned his palms up in a pleading gesture, looking for some answer as to what was wrong with his son.

“Not… normally, no,” Iruka said slowly, measuring his words. “Lord Hokage…”

“Minato, please.”

“Minato, how are things at home?” Iruka turned his head slightly.

Minato thought about things. “I’m never home as much as I’d like, and but I’d say Naruto and I see each other pretty regularly – I make it a point to not stay at the office super late. Kushina and I have a healthy love life…”

“Too much information, sir!” Iruka blushed as he cut Minato off, “I meant, is he distracted, or unhappy in any way? Does he have set study time?”

“Iruka,” Minato pleaded, “his behavior reports and academic reports don’t match the behavior or commitment I see in him at home.” His hands curled into fists, frustrated, “Every night, I come home and his nose is in a book or he’s doing ninjutsu drills with his mom! And yet, he’s at real risk of being held back or washed with only two months being at the academy! I honestly feel helpless!”

Iruka’s demeanor changed, looking sympathetic. “Mizuki can be a lot for first year students.” He smiled softly, “I’ll have Naruto transferred to my section and see if there is something we’re missing.” Iruka looked at his watch, “If I hurry, I might be able to sit him down in my office before he heads for home! I have special reading class tonight anyhow!”

“Thank you, Iruka! I normally wouldn’t step in…”

“It’s your son, Minato,” Iruka smiled and bowed, “It’s normal to want the best for him. I promise, I’ll do my best!”

As Iruka left, Minato hoped desperately that the young punk turned special education coordinator found something, anything to explain what was happening. He stared at a photo on his desk of him and Naruto on his boy’s fifth birthday. Naruto had been so happy knowing he’d be starting the Academy after the first of the year; he had been full of laughter. Since starting, there had been no laughter in almost two months. Minato lived to hear the sound of his son laughing again. 


	11. Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Hinata Hyūga strolled down the hallway of the Shinobi Academy with a floral magazine in front of her. The advantage of being a Byakugan user, she could see through the magazine while reading it if she focused just right. She quietly laughed at stunned expressions of fellow students as she’d walk straight toward them only to pivot and dance out of the way at the last moment. She felt positively naughty for the rare display of daring. However, Auntie Kushina had encouraged her to experiment with her abilities, and Naruto kept encouraging her to prank others with said abilities.

As she walked, she imagined Naruto chuckling at her minor display of mischievousness. Since starting the academy, she was lucky to see him on weekends when she had until now seen him almost every day. Naruto had placed into Mizuki’s section, and she had placed into Iruka’s section. With the stroke of some school administrator’s pen, they had gone from being an inseparable pair to never seeing each other during class hours. Because of her unique after-school requirements, walking home with him was now also a rare treat.

She worried about Naruto lately. The one or two days they did walk home now, he had become deathly quiet, and the few times he laughed, he seemed to be forcing it. She could tell something was wrong, but exactly what wasn’t clear. Hinata had tried asking Sasuke and Sakura, also in Mizuki’s section, but they had no idea, either. Sakura, in fact, seemed to think Naruto was just a lazy jerk. For barely knowing the other girl, Hinata already didn’t like her.

“Hinata!” a familiar voice called from down the hallway. Iruka Sensei rushed to meet up with her, “Hinata, have you seen Naruto around?” He paused to check around the corner, searching among the students leaving for the day.

“No, why,” she paused, “is he in trouble?”

“I can’t find him anywhere, and he hasn’t signed out for the day, so he has to still be here,” Iruka said, rubbing the back of his head. “You told me he was your friend, and I thought you might know where he was.”

Hinata knew students frequently could and did slip in and out of the school without going to the attendance office like they were supposed to. In fact, she knew Naruto and his friends Shikamaru and Choji had done so a few times without getting caught. However, it was unlike him not to sign out when leaving at the end of the day. “If he didn’t sign out at the end of class, that means he’s here,” Hinata said, now feeling a bit concerned, “but why?”

“What do you mean?” Iruka wrinkled his eyebrows.

“Naruto doesn’t like school… h-he at least doesn’t like the classroom. Why would he stay late if he wasn’t in any of the after-school programs?”

“Can you help me look for him, Hinata? His dad asked me to talk to him. Naruto is going to be transferring into our class tomorrow, but I’d like to talk to him a bit before the change.”

_Naruto is transferring into my class!_ Hinata felt butterflies in her stomach. She’d see him everyday again! If she was lucky, she could sit next to him, too! “I…” she stammered, “I’ll help you look!” She was pretty sure she was blushing. “I’ll check the classrooms on the second floor if you want to search for him down here.”

“Good call,” Iruka said, meet me down at the learning center once you’re done. If you don’t find him, we’ll gather the rest of the class and search the grounds for him.”

Hinata bowed and raced off for the stairs, Iruka reminding her not to run as she took off. The Academy was huge, but there thankfully were only a few places Naruto could actually go. The upper three floors were reserved as office space for instructors and classrooms accessible to genin or chunin student learning special techniques not taught to basic academy students. The bottom two floors were solely dedicated to students who had not yet graduated to the level of genin. Without an instructor or other ninja to sign you through security, no basic student was allowed on the upper levels.

Hinata started there, and the genin-level ninja at the security desk confirmed Naruto had not been signed in for office hours or with anyone else. Hinata activated her Byakugan, pushing it outward to search through the walls. The search only took a few minutes, and she did see him in a deserted classroom. Naruto was sitting at a desk, scribbling furiously at something in front of him. Naruto’s chakra burned a dull red, versus his normally serene blue. As she approached the room, she could feel her senses sharpen. In addition to his visible anger, she could smell his frustration as she opened the door. 

“N-Naruto,” she called as she opened the door slightly. Stepping closer, she could see a growing pile of crumpled papers at his feet. Naruto’s eyes were red and wet with tears, and his cheeks, too, were spotted with red. 

He looked up from his desk, his eyes growing wide before his face contorted again, “Hinata, go away!” he sobbed, turning away from her.

“Naruto!” She ran to his side, now sick with worry. By the time she reached him, he slipped from the chair, landed on his hands and knees, and began crying in a way she’d never seen him do before. _Naruto never cries! He must be badly hurt!_ “Naruto! What’s wrong!” she said kneeling at his side. 

“I don’t understand any of it, Hinata!” he wailed, “And they’re going to fail me! I’m going to flunk out of the Academy!” Naruto heaved violently.

Hinata put her arms around him, letting him cry into her shoulder. His tears burned hot, molten lava spilling from a volcano erupting. “Naruto, why would they do that?” she asked, “You try so hard!”

“I try,” he sobbed, not removing his head from her shoulder, “I really, really do! And I want to pass! I want to be the greatest ninja who ever lived!” he shouted. “But I can’t make sense of any of it! I-I’m just stupid!!!” he went limp as he continued to cry. 

As she held him, she let her eyes wander to what he had been working on. The various bits of crumpled and torn papers contained a garbled collection of characters and attempts at copying sentences from a textbook. As she focused in, there were obvious errors and transpositions. Hinata recognized it as something she struggled with. “Naruto,” she said softly, “The words on the page make no sense, and the words in your head won’t come out on paper, will they?”

He nodded, “It’s like I became stupid the second I got here! Everyone laughs at me; I can’t pass a written test to save my life!” he choked, “I want to pass so badly, but I’ll never have a chance now!”

“Naruto! That’s not true!” Hinata spoke sharply, “you just need a different teacher!” she held him in front of her, “You once said you’d never go back on your word. Well, this is my word, I’m not giving up on you!” She pulled one of the papers from the desk, “I know someone who can help, who has been helping me, but you have to give him a chance!”

“H-help?” Naruto asked.

“Iruka Sensei, my class instructor,” she said.

“But I thought you had to be an underachiever to be in his class!” Naruto cried.

“No, you don’t,” she helped him up, “He merely teaches students that tend to have learning problems because he’s the only one trained to do it. You wouldn’t call me an underachiever, would you?”

Naruto shook his head, “No, never, Hinata!”

“Come with me,” she gathered a few of the papers and walked him downstairs. By the time they reached the learning center, Naruto had dried his eyes and looked calmer than he had in the classroom.

“Ah, Hinata,” Iruka greeted, her, “and Naruto!” he smiled. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you!”

Naruto bowed, “Hello Iruka Sensei.” Naruto sounded nervous, the same way he sounded when he thought he was in trouble.

Iruka got down on his knees beside him, “Your parents and friends are worried about you, Naruto.” Iruka smiled warmly, “I want to help.”

“Iruka,” Hinata said softly, hoping not embarrass Naruto, “I think you’ll see it when you look at this,” she handed Iruka Naruto’s papers. 

Naruto froze statue still as Iruka scrutinized the papers. “It’s okay,” she reached for Naruto’s hand, “he needs to see; he won’t laugh.

“Why would I laugh?” Iruka said as he looked intently at the papers, “A student held back needlessly because of dyslexia is a terrible thing!”

“D-dyslexia?” Naruto stumbled.

“It’s a condition where normally intelligent people have difficulty reading and writing,” Iruka explained. “Unfortunately, our way of training students normally doesn’t allow for people who have unique challenges to learning.”

“You mean, I’ll never be a ninja!” Naruto exclaimed.

“I said the normal system won’t work, at least not well,” Iruka corrected. He put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “A lot of instructors treat students like you as a waste of time because they are not easy to teach. I consider it a test of my skill to see how I can help my students overcome those obstacles!” Iruka beamed. “And you’re in good company, too,” he smiled.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked.

“I’m dyslexic, too,” Hinata said, “as is my father.”

“Most of the Hyūga clan are, at least those born in the clan” a familiar voice called.

“Auntie Kushina!” Hinata called excitedly at the sight of Naruto’s mom.

“Iruka, my husband asked me to come here after talking with you,” Kushina explained. “That and,” she turned to Hinata, “Your mom asked me to pick you up when you were done with reading class tonight. I was planning on all three of us going to Ichiraku’s tonight for dinner; Lord Fourth is going to be late at work.”

The reminder of Mom’s strange behavior this morning made Hinata’s butterflies begin to flutter again. As much as she didn’t want to know, she _needed_ to know. “Auntie Kushina… what’s wrong with Mommy?”

Auntie Kushina stared with deep violet-blue eyes. Her eyes were now shaking, and her lips quivering. “Hinata,” Kushina sputtered, “I- she…” Kushina trailed off, stifling tears. “She… is possibly very sick… very, very sick. Lady Tsunade is doing some tests, but we won’t know for some time, little one.”

On one hand, Hinata appreciated the truth – Father would never have told her. On the other, she was petrified by the thought of her mom being sick. Hinata had known it was bad when she saw it, but some part of her held out hope that her mom or Kushina would tell her it was nothing. Still, Auntie Kushina had been a source of confidence and warmth for most of her life. She didn’t blame her for telling the truth; Hinata merely wished the truth was something different. _You can wish in one hand and cry into the other and see which one fills up faster._

Hinata looked at Naruto; he was scared and contemplating. Hinata wished she could have lied to him; told him he wasn’t going to face a life of trouble reading and writing. However comforting a lie or an absent truth could be, Hinata knew the lie would only evaporate and leave a kaleidoscope of negative emotions in its place – anger, fear, resentment. It was why she trusted Auntie Kushina without question; she would never withhold the truth – even if she thought it would hurt. 

“Kushina, I hate to change subject here,” Iruka spoke, “but I think it would be best if Naruto stayed for reading class tonight and going forward.”

“Of course,” she replied, “Do you mind if I sit in and observe?”

“Not at all,” Iruka smiled, “I prefer when parents get involved in the process with my students.”

As much as Hinata was scared, she was glad Auntie Kushina was here tonight. As sad as she was for Naruto, she was glad he’d now be in the same class. Mom would be okay. Tsunade was the best there was. Hinata worried about Father more than anyone. He was hard man but a good man. Hinata knew deep down, beyond the hard, stony exterior, he would be very scared, and he would need her love as much as she needed him, too. 

* * *

Naruto punched at his target twice before pivoting into a reverse roundhouse kick. Hinata blocked expertly as she always did. When it came time for a counterattack, Naruto noticed she was pulling her strikes too heavily. She was trying _not_ to hit him so much that her strikes wouldn’t have hit even if he hadn’t effectively blocked them. 

“Come on, Hinata,” he panted as the continued to spar, “You can do better than that!” In the almost two weeks since transferring into Iruka’s section, Naruto’s outlook on life had turned a corner. He had passed his first pop quiz, his reading comprehension scores were improving, and he had gone two full weeks without getting sent to the headmaster’s office. He had also befriended Kiba, who suffered ADHD and Shino who had a mild stammer. Choji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Sakura also stayed in touch from his old section. 

Everything was great, except Hinata. He could understand her being upset about her mom being sick and having to go to the hospital every day. Hinata was spending more and more time with his family. Heck, several times Hinata had spent the night in the spare bedroom, and the shopkeepers in the village several times referred to Hinata as his sister. As nice as it was seeing her everyday again, something was eating at her, and it wasn’t just being worried about her mom – Naruto was determined to discover what.

She came at him with a forward side kick, easily blocked. Naruto decided to test his theory by leaving his guard down with his other arm. Hinata thrusted a palm-heel strike toward his exposed chest. The strike should have put him on his back; however, the blow merely grazed past his chest, wholly ineffective. _I knew it!_

“Time out!” he called. Hinata and he bowed to one another, and they bowed to Mom and Uncle Kakashi who had been watching the match. Naruto took a few moments to stretch, admiring the orange sun setting on the crisp March afternoon. The backyard still hadn’t yet come back to life, and parts of it were still torn up from where Mom and Hinata had been working on small garden plots. This weekend, Naruto would be helping them with assembling raised beds and filling them in with soil. While Naruto wasn’t much for gardening, all Mom had to do is remind him that a future Hokage needed to know many skills – that and Dad was taking the weekend off to help them on this project. 

Despite how often Dad missed things because of work, Naruto admired him for being there when it counted, and not just for him, but for also Hinata. He had been the one that insisted she train with Naruto now that Lord Hiashi was at the Hospital with Aunt Akemi more and more. As Naruto stared at Hinata, he wondered how any part of her came from father – she was too kind. _And that is probably why she’s yet to win a match against you_.

“Hey, Hinata,” Naruto said, nervously scratching the back of his head, “I don’t mean to be rude, but can you try a little harder to hit me?”

“Huh,” Hinata stared at him confused, “What do you mean?”

“It’s just… well,” now it was his turn to blush in embarrassment, “You see, I left my guard down at the end of that last match, on purpose! And you still didn’t hit me.”

“Why would you do that, Naruto-kun?” her eyes widened. Hinata had taken to referring to him as “Naruto-kun” whenever embarrassed or in formal occasions. 

“Hinata, I know you were intentionally missing hits, throwing rounds in the match,” he explained, “Had you been trying to hit me instead of not hit me, we’d be tied right now. Why?” Naruto hoped he wasn’t being rude, but he didn’t want Hinata to throw crooked punches when things got real, either. 

“Well, you see…” Hinata blushed, tapping the tips of her index fingers together, another nervous gesture, “I… I just don’t want to hurt you, Naruto-kun! I-I mean what if I hit you real hard? I’d never forgive myself if I hurt you!”

Naruto could understand to a degree. He’d much rather spar with Sasuke, Choji, Neji or Shikamaru than Hinata. The thought of injuring her was never far away, but they were training to be shinobi, and there was no way around it. “But Hinata,” he said, “we can’t learn to do this without facing off like it’s the real thing! Do you think your cousin would go this easy on either of us if we were in a match against him?”

“Well… I…” she fidgeted with her fingers again. As annoying as the shy routine could be at moments like this, it was cute. Naruto blushed slightly. “I… I don’t really like competition, Naruto-kun. I think half of what we do in training matches – competing against one another – is wasteful.”

“Hinata,” Kakashi walked close to them, “I think Naruto isn’t concerned about win or lose here.” He placed his hands on their shoulders, “He’s worried that if you train this way, you’ll fight this way when it counts. And he doesn’t want you or him getting hurt worse because you were afraid he might get hurt here!” Kakashi nodded, trying to reassure her. 

“Get hurt worse?” Hinata asked nervously.

“Hinata, let’s say someone like the bad man who tried kidnapping you attacks you guys in the field,” Kakashi gestured with his hands, “and you’ve been training not to hit Naruto here. The second you go to throw a strike, it doesn’t hit or glances off something unimportant, instead.” Kakashi moved his right hand past his left in a missing the target motion. 

“Suddenly, trying to protect Naruto from injury in training,” Mom added, “could get him injured or killed when this is real someday.”

“K-killed!” Hinata’s eyes almost popped out of her head they opened so wide.

Mom knelt down next to Hinata, “That is why we train here like we’re up against the real thing, where we can be safe, even if we get hurt a bit. Our friends, the people we love, could be put in real danger if we don’t train properly. Someday, you could be with Naruto on a mission, and his life could be in your hands, and yours could be in his. You won’t do anything that can truly hurt Naruto here, not while we’re watching.” Mom winked at Hinata. 

“So, Hinata, ready to try again?” Naruto asked, hoping the lesson had sunk in. 

Hinata nodded thoughtfully, taking her starting mark. Naruto stood opposite. They again bowed to each other and to Mom. They both adopted fighting stances. “Ready, GO!” Mom shouted.

Naruto was unprepared for the incoming strike that clocked him in the left eye, nor did he get his arms up in time to block her sidekick into his stomach. Naruto felt the wind get blasted out of his guts as he staggered backwards. “HOLD!!!” he heard Mom screech as he dropped to one knee.

“NARUTO!!!” Hinata cried as she ran to his side, “Are you all right!”

“YES!!!” Naruto laughed through pain, giving her a big thumbs up, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Hinata,” Kakashi patted her on the shoulder, “see the difference. Naruto has gotten so lazy from not having to actively block your shots that he got hit by the first one! How do you think that would have played out if it had been someone trying to hurt him?”

“Hey!” Naruto groaned as he got to his feet, “Who are you calling lazy, Uncle Kakashi!”

“Oh, then let’s see you actually block this time!” Kakashi gestured to the starting line. They again took their marks. This time Naruto began sweating as he blocked shots and had to return them with added care. In a way, Kakashi had been right – Naruto almost couldn’t change gears from seeing Hinata as not a threat. She got in another body shot, this one in his ribs. 

“Another point for Hinata!” Mom called out, “You’re getting slow, son!” Mom always taunted him when she wanted him to give his best.

“I’m just warming up, Mom!” he called back. Naruto winked at Hinata, and she smiled back. Naruto liked this version of Hinata. She wasn’t scared, maybe still a bit shy, but playful. She feinted a low kick. He reacted, getting his arms up to block her one-two side-strike and jab. He got his right leg up, preparing to bring his knee into her now unprotected solar plexus. 

However, she unexpectedly rushed forward into him. His leg went up, knocking her off balance, and she fell into him like sack of potatoes. Stretched out with one leg up in the air, Naruto fell backwards to the ground with Hinata over top of him. “OOFFFF!” Naruto groaned as they landed. 

“Is that match point?” Naruto heard Kakashi ask.

“He is on his back… works for me,” Mom replied, “Hinata’s the winner!” Mom smiled and walked up to them, lifting Hinata’s hand in the air in a sign of victory. 

“Impressive,” Naruto heard the clapping of hands. Uncle Hiashi walked through the gate to the yard. He looked tired, dark racoon circles formed around his eyes. Even his Byakugan eyes seemed a duller shade of pale purple than usual. It was the look of a man who had lost a fight. Naruto knew it did not bode well of Aunt Akemi if the normally impeccable and immaculate shinobi lord was looking like this. 

“I take there is new?” Mom asked hopefully.

“They’re admitting her right now,” Hiashi sighed as he looked down at the ground. “Final clearance tomorrow, and they do surgery the next day.”

Naruto swallowed a hard lump in his throat. Hinata had remained frozen atop him, listening intently. “I assume the tests were positive?” Mom asked.

“Stage two-B, no metastasis,” he replied. Naruto didn’t know if that was good or bad, but the tears gathering at the corners of Hiashi’s eyes didn’t bode well. For some reason he didn’t understand, Naruto hugged Hinata to him, as her head rested on his chest. He could feel her shiver. 

“That’s good, then!” Mom replied, “It has a high rate of survival! And if it hasn’t spread…”

“I could have caught this faster!” Lord Hiashi began crying in earnest. Naruto could feel dampness seeping through his shirt where Hinata lay. “If I hadn’t… if I hadn’t been so damn distracted!” Hiashi wept. 

Mom hugged the normally stone-faced man who was now crying like a baby with a broken balloon. “Hiashi, you can’t keep blaming yourself!” Mom comforted the man. Naruto had never seen a grownup cry so thoroughly until now. The scene threatened to make him cry, too. 

“Kushina, I have a favor to ask,” Hiashi spoke as he collected himself. _A favor?_

“Of course, old friend, what can we do?” Mom replied.

“The servants can look after Hanabi, but I’m worried about Hinata! S-she hasn’t been training for almost two weeks now, except for what you’ve been doing.”

“Hiahsi, you’ve been too busy!”

Hiashi raised a hand, “Is she all right to stay here until Akemi is home from the Hospital?”

“Of course,” Mom nodded, “Do we need to get her things?”

“I’ll have them sent over shortly,” Hiashi said, wiping away tears. “Kushina, thank you!”

“It’s the least we could do after all you and Akemi did for us!”

Hiashi started at Hinata and Naruto, shaking his head. “How do you do it, Kushina?”

“Do what?” Mom asked, looking confused.

“Get my daughter to train like this?” he asked. “I feel like I’m up against a brick wall when trying to motivate her to train with me!”

“You’re not a mom, Hiashi,” Mom winked, “And Akemi is not a ninja.”

“Both of which work against me,” Hiashi lamented. “The clan elders, including my father, have repeatedly pointed it out since this all started…”

“And it’s none of their business!” Mom’s voice raised, “Anymore than they need to know about her being jinchuriki. The clan has no right to second-guess her place as heir!”

“Even if she’s unhappy and unfit for the role?” he asked.

“Hiashi, you have a wife and family to worry about first!”

“Hey, ummm, Hinata,” Kakashi spoke. “Are you making yourself comfortable, or are you planning on climbing off of Naruto here?” Kakashi giggled, implying he was joking. Nevertheless, Hinata freed herself from Naruto. 

“Daddy,” Hinata asked, “can I see Mommy?”

“Hinata she’s very sick right now…” he began sternly, but something changed as he looked at Hinata’s tear-soaked eyes, “… but I’m sure she’d love to see you at visiting hours tomorrow!” Hiashi’s voice sounded choked.

“Kushina,” Kakashi said, “how about I take the kid’s inside and start getting them cleaned up for dinner? I don’t think we can hope to do any more training drills tonight.”

“Go on ahead, I’ll be in in a few minutes,” she replied.

“Daddy,” Hinata hugged her father’s leg, “I love you!”

Awkwardly, Hiashi knelt down to her, “I love you, too sweetie, now I need you to be a good girl, and be on your best behavior until your mom gets out of the hospital! Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, father!” she hugged Hiashi tightly. 

“Naruto,” Lord Hiashi said, not loosening his grip on his daughter, “I want you to take care of her for me! Train her well while I’m gone, or you’ll answer to me!”

Naruto nodded, feeling the full weight of Uncle Hiashi’s words. “You can count on me,” Naruto raised a thumb and winked, “Believe it!”

* * *

Mom had put Naruto to bed early after dinner. For a long while, he just lay there in the dark of his room, too tired to turn on the reading lamp to read, but too awake to doze off. One by one, the lights in the hallway went out. He heard the door to his parents’ room close. 

Naruto closed his eyes, hoping that he might will himself to sleep. However, his hearing grew sharper, and heard a familiar sound – crying. Naruto lay still, straining his ears to determine where it came from. He sat up in bed, hearing the sound more clearly as he turned his head; it was coming from the guest bedroom where Hinata was asleep. 

At first, Naruto hesitated. His parents were far from being hard-nosed, but he didn’t know if they’d be upset with him being outside his room at night. The sound of Hinata’s sobbing caused a stranglehold on his guts. Naruto couldn’t just sit here in the dark listening. 

He slid out from under his covers, carefully creeping across the floor in his soft pajamas to his slippers, and he quietly eased open the door to his room. Light from his window cast shadows everywhere. However, Naruto had learned from Kakashi at a young age that the shadows were a safe place for ninja. He crept quietly across the floor to the door to Hinata’s room. Carefully, he turned the knob, careful not to make any noise. As he cracked the door, the sound of her crying only intensified. 

He almost closed the door, fearful that his parents might wake up. But there was no sign of them stirring. Naruto slipped through the door and carefully closed it behind him, this time making just enough noise to alert Hinata that he was here. “Na-Naruto-kun!” she whispered loudly.

He quickly brought his pointer finger to his lips, gently shushing her. Thankfully, she stopped. In the pale moonlight, Hinata glowed gently against the backdrop of the room’s window. She looked a bit like a fairy from one of his picture books from preschool. “Hinata, what’s wrong?” he whispered, walking closer to her. Her tears were now reflecting the moon light like stars.

“Naruto!” she cried, putting her arms around him and her head on his shoulder. “Mom’s going to die, I know it!” she sobbed.

“Whoa, calm down!” Naruto struggled to keep his voice steady, “What are you talking about? Mom said she’d be okay!”

“Daddy has never cried like that in front of me,” Hinata squealed, “h…he wouldn’t cry like that if things were going to be okay!”

“Hinata,” he said, hugging her back, “it’s going to be okay! Would my mom have lied in front of you?”

“No, but, maybe she’s wrong!” Hinata wept.

“Hey, hey,” Naruto said, taking her by the shoulders, “it’s going to be okay, Hinata! You’ll see!” He smiled, wiping away some of his own tears, “We’ll go see your mom tomorrow at the hospital like my mom promised!” Naruto felt his heart race with his conviction, “And when she gets home, we’ll give her a big bouquet of flower from the flower shop! I have money from my allowance!”

“N-Naruto-kun!” tears again spilled from her eyes, “You must think me weak for crying so much!”

“Hey,” hugged her again, “I’m crying, too!” he laughed. 

“Y-you’ve always been so kind to me!” Hinata shook in his arms. He held her closely in case her legs gave out.

“That’s what friends are for,” he whispered to her ear. Naruto rocked her gently back and forth the way mom did when he’d been scared or sad. 

“Naruto, you really promise things will be okay?” Hinata asked, not separating from him.

“She has the best doctors and the best two kids in the world pulling for her; what more could she ask for?” He held her at arm’s length, holding out his right pinkie finger. “Hinata, you promised me that you’d never give up on me; now I’m promising I’ll never give up on you!”

“You mean that?” she asked, wrapping her finger around his.

“Forever and ever,” Naruto said tightening his pinkie around hers. He wrapped her in a warm hug until she began to doze off. Naruto tucked her in, gently patting her on the head. As she drifted off. Naruto wasn’t sure why, but he gently kissed her forehead before turned to return to his room. 


	12. Twelve

Chapter Twelve

The incessant buzzing of Naruto’s alarm clock jolted him to consciousness. His head was already swimming, and he seriously considered hitting the snooze button. He thought better of it and rolled out onto his feet, not bothering to get dressed in anything more than his boxer shorts he wore to bed. He warmed up running in place for about two minutes; he had done this drill every morning since he started the academy almost seven years ago. He stared at the calendar on his wall. “Finals week,” was circled in red. The first two days were already checked through. He had thus far managed to keep his head above water, at least putting him in the top quarter of the class – amazing considering he’d started out dead last. 

Naruto smiled as he dropped forward into pushup position. As he pressed up and down, he remembered his first two hellish months at the academy, hardly believing that his time as a student was almost over. He just had to survive today, pass his practical exam for transformation Jutsu tomorrow, and he’d get his forehead guard on Friday! _And then you get to survive whatever test your jonin sensei throws your way!_

Naruto changed to the plank position, holding as long as he could, focusing his core muscles. The numbers on the clock jumped, but he forced them to stay in place, much as he forced his core to hold him upright. Despite the straightforward nature of what was ahead, Naruto felt his heart racing from anxiety as much as from the effort needed to hold position. Transformation jutsu were still a challenge, as was generating a shadow clone. He still frequently made mistakes, especially when he didn’t have time to focus himself to near perfection. The challenge was the test was a randomly drawn order – he had to be ready to go first, last, or any time between. 

Naruto jumped up, looking at the clock – 0620. He grabbed his school bag, checking it for his swim gear. The water survival exam was today. Most of his classmates had no idea that it would be the hardest exam they would face this week. Uncle Kakashi had actually test-run the exam with Naruto, using him as the guinea pig to determine for the challenges he and the others would face today. Naruto shivered; this was one test he knew foreknowledge would not help anyone pass. _Just get through it; you know he’s going to throw you a curveball or two to keep it fair!_

Naruto grabbed his clothes for the day and took off for the restroom. He’d shower, eat breakfast, and he’d meet Hinata and Sasuke on the way to school. Everything would be fine. He would earn the right to wear his forehead protector on Friday. _A fine birthday gift for turning twelve a few next week!_

* * *

Hinata stretched gently in the cool October morning air. The plants were all still mostly in bloom – a few weeks of good weather were still in order. She pirouetted several times, changing feet each time she spun in place. Herbs and flowers perfumed the air richly as she danced. She leapt onto the thick metal edge of one planter, balancing like a tightrope performer as she spun and leapt along the railing that surrounded the garden her mom left her in charge of when Mom had been diagnosed with cancer. 

Hinata felt the railing’s lacquered wood strain through the dance stockings on her feet. In another year or two, she’d be too big to do this. _Guess I’ll need to add metal railings in the future!_ She vaulted backwards off the railing, landing on both hands, and she backflipped twice. Hinata paused her motion in a handstand; she was now nose to nose with the stone marker.

Hinata somersaulted forward and turned to kneel in front of the marker she had erected for her mom. She bowed her head in prayer for a moment, kissed the obsidian plinth where her mother’s name was etched, and she took a stone from next to the plinth, scratching a mark on the side of the small obelisk-shaped marker.

“You’ve gotten very good at that routine, small one,” Akemi Hyūga clapped gently. Even years after her cancer treatment, Mom was incredibly beautiful, her black hair having grown back with only the earliest streaks of silver showing.

Hinata sprung to her feet and ran to her mom, hugging her, “Seven years, Mom!”

“Seven years, love,” Mom replied through tears of joy. “Seven years cancer-free is the best gift a mom could ever ask for!” Mom squeezed her, both of them letting tears of joy run. “Well, maybe second best to having you for a daughter! You’ll be an expert before long!”

“I had a good teacher,” Hinata reminded her mother. Aunt Kushina had trained her as a shinobi, but her mom had taught her gymnastics and dance, among other things, after recovering from chemo. 

Hinata just wanted to hold her mother and stay here forever. However, Hinata knew this and all perfect moments were fleeting. “Hinata, you’ll be late for school,” her father’s gruff voice called from behind her. Hinata turned to see Father. His face was still chiseled stone, and his hair was greying to match. But for a brief moment, it morphed into a shallow smile – a big deal for him. “Good luck today, daughter. Make us proud!”

Hinata bowed, her cheeks blushing at the rare display of affection from father. She took off for the gatehouse; Naruto was probably already waiting for her, tapping his foot impatiently. Hinata already had her swim gear on for today’s test – less chance of the other girls in the locker room seeing the seal on her stomach. Despite being warmed up, she felt a chill on her skin as met him out front. Naruto had told her what they were up against, and knowing Kakashi, what they knew was only the tip of the iceberg. 

* * *

Kakashi breathed in deeply, smelling the scent of chlorine from the Academy’s pool. Among the students he also smelled the usual scents for this test: complacency and arrogance. Year after year, water survival class had been a joke to the students. Many, even in this group, had not read the water survival manual, and simply assumed it would involve treading water for some length of time or doing timed laps. Kakashi aimed to end that illusion for good, having seen many shinobi drown or die of hypothermia from unexpected immersions on missions.

“You ready for this?” he asked his nephew, Naruto, now standing on the five-meter high-dive.

“No,” Naruto answered with a crack to his voice, “but let’s just get it over with.” Kakashi had already subjected Naruto to the test several times, with mixed results, while planning today’s test. Part of him felt bad for making Naruto do it again, but only part of him. Kakashi felt worse about the curveball he was going to throw Naruto’s way, but he also needed to see what the boy was made of. 

“Good morning class!” Kakashi exclaimed too excitedly to entire class that would be graduating Friday, assuming they survived this. 

“Good morning, Kakashi Sensei,” the group replied in a less than excited unison. All the guys were various swim shorts, the most common color being black. A few of the heavier students, like Choji, were allowed to wear a swim shirt. Naruto also wore a black swim shirt, namely, to hide the seal on his stomach. By now, the seal was an open secret, but the less he broadcasted it, the better. Most of the girls wore simple one- or two-piece suits of every color. Hinata, ever body conscious, was wearing a black pair of athletic shorts over her black once piece. She looked terrified at what they were about to do. Kakashi felt a pang of regret, but he tempered it with the fact that this was an important life or death lesson learned now and not in the field.

“Class,” he called out, “this is your final exam for water survival. Anyone who fails today will have to repeat and pass this test prior to graduation Friday, or you won’t be getting your forehead protector!” He scanned the group, most still seemed oblivious as to what was about to happen. “The water in this pool is currently chilled to ten degrees Celsius,” he paused, “That’s fifty degrees Fahrenheit to anyone doing the math.” No one reacted. “As will be demonstrated in a moment here by Naruto Uzumaki,” Kakashi pointed to Naruto in place on the diving platform, “You will enter the water from the five meter platform and be required to tread water for a minimum of five minutes by the pool clock. You will then have to exit the pool without the assistance of the lifeguards,” Kakashi spread his arms to gesture toward the five guards on the deck, and the other five in the pool wearing wetsuits. 

“Make no mistake, your lives will be at risk during this test!” That got everyone’s attention. Kakashi smiled behind his mask, “If you begin to founder or drop below the surface after initial entry, you will be extracted and have to undergo a medical check before performing the test again!”

“Naruto here,” he again pointed to his nephew, looking petrified, “has bravely volunteered to be our demonstration subject.”

“Hey Naruto,” a swaggering voice called from the class, “Don’t forget to wait until you’re in the water to pee your pants!”

Kakashi recognized the voice, and decided to add an object lesson in arrogance, “Sasuke Uchiha!” Kakashi shouted like a gameshow host, “Thank you for volunteering to go instead of Naruto! I thought we would all be so bored watching him pass this test! Come on down!” He waved the pale, now horrified looking boy toward the board. “Get up there and trade spots with Naruto!” Sasuke started up the ladder, terrified as if Kakashi had asked him to climb on a dragon’s back. 

Nevertheless, the boy did as he was told. Kakashi heard an exchange between Naruto and Sasuke, “How bad?” Sasuke asked. “Really bad,” Naruto answered. _Good, no hint of arrogance from him, either._

“Okay Sasuke,” Kakashi called out as Naruto climbed down, “You may enter.” As expected, Sasuke stood frozen at the end of the board. “Sasuke, we don’t have all day!” Kakashi hollered. Again, Sasuke remained frozen. 

_Have it your way!_ Kakashi pulled out a remote control from his pocket and pressed a red button. The mechanism holding the diving platform upright released, spilling Sasuke clumsily into the chilled water. When he eventually did surface, Sasuke thrashed about in a panic. 

“As you may have noticed,” Kakashi called out as the board began to raise back into the upright position, “Any refusal to enter on command will result in forced entry. “You all are also witnessing the initial effect of cold-water immersion on the human body,” he pointed to Sasuke, struggling to stay afloat. “At this temperature, hypothermia begins setting in rapidly, often accompanied by things such as confusion, shivering, and a general sensation of weakness. Other symptoms may include difficulty breathing, panic, and progressive loss of consciousness. This tends to get worse quicker by activities such as trying to swim or actively tread water.”

Kakashi stopped to check his watch, still almost three minutes to go. “More importantly, the sensation of discomfort in cold water immersion tends toward the extreme, as I’m sure Sasuke can attest to at the moment!” Kakashi turned to the class, all of home stood with mouths agape and looking mortified, “We will go in groups of five. Do I have any volunteers?”

* * *

Naruto watched in horror as Sasuke nearly foundered in the cold water. “We go in groups of five. Do I have any volunteers?” Uncle Kakashi called out. 

_Now or never, before he can add any curveballs!_ “I volunteer!” Naruto shouted, raising his hand. 

“I’ll go, too,” Hinata’s voice shook, but she sounded determined.

“Count me in!” Choji shouted,

“What a pain, why not?” Shikamaru raised his hand.

“How bad could it be?” Sakura raised her hand.

“Congratulations to my brave volunteers,” Kakashi’s tone suggested he had something sinister specially planned for them all, “They will be going last! Everyone else form a line as you get called out!”

_Dammit all!!!_ Uncle Kakashi only did things like this when he had something particularly special in mind. Naruto began running through the nightmare scenarios in his head as the next group stepped up to the plunge. At five minutes apiece, his group would be waiting their turn for well over an hour. 

As his group waited, Naruto paced back and forth, feeling scattered and unfocused. Choji and Shikamaru leaned back against the wall – Shikamaru looking bored and Choji apprehensive as they watched Sasuke swim to the far edge. Sakura stood at the edge of the pool as she watched him try to exit the far end unaided. As Sasuke exited, the medical staff on standby took him to another room. He shot Naruto a haunting glance with his deathly pale skin and his black doll’s eyes. 

The next group went in with loud splashes and abbreviated gasps and screams. Despite the drama, all five made it out on time and without incident. _What’s the angle here; why the hell is he making us go last? What trick is up his sleeve?_

Naruto caught sight of a jittery looking Hinata, scanning the room with her Byakugan. “Anything?” He asked.

“Nothing,” she shook her head, letting her eyes return to normal. “There’s no hazard in the water or anywhere in the room that I can see. He’s making this easy,” Hinata said apprehensively as she began tapping the tips of her index fingers together. She didn’t have to include, “ _Kakashi never makes things easy.”_ Another group entered the water.

Naruto sighed, his breath forming a light fog. There had to be something he was not seeing or understanding. He heard the strained yelps of another group hitting the chilly water. This time, there was real blood-curdling screaming from the group. He recognized Ino Yamanaka as being the source of high-pitched gasps. The girl began foundering and was promptly rescued from the water, along with all but one of her partners being rescued. “What the hell…” he whispered to himself, his words forming fog.

“I see Ino-pig couldn’t hack it, no surprise!” Sakura spoke venomously, her angry breath forming a small cloud. 

“She’s supposed to be a good swimmer,” Naruto twisted his expression – something had changed for the worst. The next group went in and experienced similar results, only one survivor. Naruto stared at his uncle. _What did you change?_ He breathed out a steady stream of steam as goosebumps erupted all over him. 

“Na-Naruto,” Hinata fidgeted with her fingers. 

“What is it?”

“Y-Your breath!” she whimpered.

“Hey, cut me some slack, I brushed my teeth before breakfast. So, kill me!”

“Yes, please do us all a favor,” Sakura chided him, crossing her arms.

“No!” Hinata said, “Look!” She breathed out a ring of steam from her mouth. Naruto suddenly realized what she was getting at.

“Great, trick, Hinata, but how is that even remotely useful?” Sakura said, completely missing the point.

Naruto stared at the water’s surface. A thin layer of fog was flowing from it like smoke from a fire. He walked toward the edge of the pool and knelt down. Out of the corner of his eye, Choji and Shikamaru walked closer. Naruto dipped his fingertips in and immediately withdrew them like he’d touched a hot iron, “It’s freezing!” he gasped.

“Big deal!” Sakura exclaimed, “It’s _supposed_ to be freezing!”

“Sakura,” Shikamaru corrected her, “he means the water temperature is at freezing, not the cool temperature it was earlier, but about to turn to ice!” Shikamaru could have etched glass with the acid in his tone. Another group entered, and all were fished out this time. Sakura’s eyes bulged wide with horrific realization.

_So that’s his game, he’s been chilling the water the whole time!_ “Oh, Naruto, I almost forgot,” Uncle Kakashi’s voice chilled him almost as bad as the water. He turned to his uncle. “Because you had foreknowledge of the test, I do have to enhance the conditions a bit, so you don’t have an unfair advantage.”

“By turning the water temperature down even further!” Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.

“That, my boy, is a bonus! For you to qualify as passing, your entire team must pass. Good luck!” Kakashi walked away back to his observation point. 

Naruto loved his uncle, but right now, he wanted to throw the man into the damn pool! “What now, idiot!” Sakura smacked Naruto in back of the head. “We’re all going to fail because of you!”

“There has to be a way…” he gasped. There only two groups left ahead of them.

“What makes you say that?” Choji shivered nervously. 

“There’s always a way with Kakashi,” Hinata explained, “He always is trying to teach a lesson; he never gives a problem that has no solution!”

The last group ahead of them took their mark as the second to last were fished out of the now frigid water. “Care to huddle and plan with what little time we got?” Shikamaru asked.

_Huddle!_ Naruto wracked his brain at the mention of the word. There was something important about it, something that might be the difference between pass and fail right now. _Keep your head out of the water, try to keep as much of you dry as possible, if possible, gather with other survivors…_ “That’s it!” he shouted as the last group ahead entered.

“What’s it?” Sakura asked, unconvinced.

“Choji, you can tread water fairly well, right?” Naruto asked desperately. 

“Yeah… why?”

“Okay, everyone, I don’t have a lot of time to explain…”

“Last group, on the platform!” Kakashi shouted.

“Everyone,” Naruto said, “enter feet-first, get to the surface as fast as you can, and converge on Choji! Choji, take the center platform!” Naruto saw blank expressions in Choji and Sakura’s eyes, but there was a flicker of realization from Hinata and Shikamaru. 

“Last group, get up now or you forfeit!” Kakashi taunted playfully. 

The metal ladder chilled Naruto’s hands and feet as he ascended. Before he knew it, he was standing at the edge, looking into the frigid abyss. “Enter together, no hesitation!” Naruto called out. He wished he was half as confident as he sounded. 

“ENTER!!!”

Against all instinct, Naruto leapt from the board. The fall took less than a second, but breaching the water took an eternity. He was in over his head, and the water became a million icy knives stabbing him all around. _Get on top, find Choji!_ The muscles around his stomach cramped against the cold, threatening to force him to blow out his air and suck in a lung-full of water. 

Naruto’s arms and legs shook, flopping paralyzed by the venomous cold. _MovemovemoveMOVE!!!_ He was going to drown here if he couldn’t find the strength to move. From somewhere deep down, he felt a burning flame. Naruto willed his arms and legs to contract, propelling him to the surface. He reached for the hot flame internally, feeding it to his muscles as he reached through the water in the direction of Choji.

* * *

Hinata felt herself shiver as much from anxiety as she did from the cold. She understood Naruto’s plan, but she didn’t want to be the reason it failed if she wasn’t strong enough. _Get a grip, if you start thinking that way, you and he will fail!_

“ENTER!!!” Kakashi yelled.

Hinata skipped the flourish of a doing a flip and went in feet first. Dipping into the icy water burned her skin the way she expected molten lava to burn. Every muscle in her body cramped, threatening to force precious air from her lungs. _Get on top! Go!!!_

She commanded her limbs clumsily, like moving arms and legs made of ice. Nevertheless, she made it to the surface, taking a massive gulp of air. Her head was foggy; she had something she was supposed to do. What was it? _ChojiChojiChoji!!!_

She saw the other boy’s mass, and flopped her arms through the water, making great splashes of bubbles. It felt liked she’d swam a hundred meters, but it probably was only five. She reached Choji and put her arms around his considerable mass. Another frigid set of hands set on her right shoulder, Sakura’s. To her left, Naruto pressed against her. Soon, Shikamaru joined the group hug.

“Kick just enough…” Naruto panted, “to stay afloat.”

“Clock’s running…” Hinata moaned through agony. “Four minutes.”

“R-remember…the rules… we-we have to get out without help from the lifeguards!” Shikamaru gasped.

“Can-can’t do it… so…. So cold!” Sakura screeched. 

“When we break,” Naruto struggled to keep air in his lungs, “backstroke to the edge! Choji, we get you out first!”

“Why me?” Choji shivered.

“Because… once you’re out, we’ll form a chain, and get everyone out! We need you to anchor!” Naruto replied. 

“Al-almost time!” Hinata had to shout to get enough sound out. “Thirty seconds!” She wasn’t sure if the huddle had really helped, but at least it was something better than struggling to stay afloat solo. 

”EXTRACT!” Kakashi shouted to them. Hinata checked the clock to be sure it was no trick; it wasn’t.

“Break!” Naruto squeaked. The group separated, and their plan fell apart. Sakura made for the edge fast as she could, Shikamaru wasn’t too far behind her. Hinata began to take off when she noticed Naruto and Choji weren’t with her. 

A quick scan with her eyes revealed Choji struggling to stay up, and Naruto struggling to keep the larger boy from foundering. “Shikamaru! Sakura!” she squealed as she swam back toward the struggling pair. She could hear a loud splash in the background, but she didn’t wait to see who had jumped back in. 

Hinata swam up to Choji’s left. “C-c-c-cold, so…soooo cold!” Choji slurred his speech. She took his arm. “Don’t worry, keep kicking,” she heard Naruto’s voice, weak but determined.

Sheer agony tortured Hinata as she struggled to propel herself and half of Choji forward. Her head was swimming, her body ached like glass breaking all over, and she could only hope they were swimming the correct direction. There was some exchanged between Naruto and Shikamaru, but it was lost to the sound of her heart beating in her skull. 

_Keep kicking, don’t fail him now!_ Hinata could feel herself reaching inside for every ounce of strength she had. A tiny flicker of energy pulsed through her, and her legs began to move again with some level of conviction. 

The hard concrete edge greeted her like the side of an iceberg – slick and offering a taunting of safety. “Shikamaru, get up and help us lift!” Naruto groaned as he scraped his right arm gripping onto the rougher concrete pool deck. Hinata, too reached up, cold air on her arm evaporating away water, stealing precious heat. Sakura, too, joined in the struggle. With a great push, Choji was up and out, knocking over Sakura and Shikamaru. _Dammit!_

She felt her energy rapidly bleeding out. She had to get out now! She managed to get one arm and leg up on the deck, but she slipped back in, scraping skin hard enough to draw blood. The water around her danced with tiny rivulets of crimson. Another unfriendly sound came her way, the splashing of the lifeguards approaching. _Oh no, Naruto!_ The thought of him failing because of her stung every bit as bad as the scratches on her arm and leg.

“Hinata, take my hand! Shimmy yourself to the edge again. She again tried to get up and over; this time a cold chuck of flesh wrapped around her arm and another around her waist. “Push on three! One, two, THREE!”

She pushed off the water as Naruto pulled with all his might. Hinata barely registered the slap of her body of his or the grinding sensation of the rough pool deck. When she finally took in her surroundings, she realized all of them had made it on deck. There was no sense of triumph or anything. She simply felt numb all over. 

Something soft and warm came over her shoulders, a medical-nin had wrapped her in a warm towel. Panic gripped her, “WAIT!!!” she screamed.

“It’s all right, you’re on the deck, and that means passing,” the medic’s voice assured her. The other medics soon took them to a heated room, laying them on exam tables covered warm blankets as the medics checked them over.

The gentle sound of muffled clapping broke through the dissonant drone of the medics doing their work. Hinata strained to look toward the room’s entrance. “I must say, I was truly worried for a moment, but it seems you all did pay attention to the survival guide!” Kakashi beamed as he approached.

“You mean we passed?” Naruto squeaked. 

“You passed, all of you!” “Still,” Kakashi paused, lamenting, “I would have hoped at least one other group would have thought to pull together.”

“Th-that’s why you made us go last?” Hinata spoke through chattering teeth.

“Partially, but I also had to make sure the water would be cold enough to test how truly well wonder boy had been paying attention,” Kakashi stared at Naruto. “I’m glad you didn’t disappoint! Now get warmed up and rested!”

Hinata laid her head back on the table, feeling exhausted in a way she never knew possible. Everything hurt, and her skin tingled and burned as blood rushed back to the surface. Only now did she feel the sting of where she’d skinned herself on the deck. Much to her surprise, the scrapes were already closed, even fading in a few spots. _Kyuubi’s chakra._

“We did it,” a strained voice called from her left. She turned her head to see Naruto smiling weakly toward the ceiling. “We’re going to pass!” he said excitedly for someone suffering moderate hypothermia. Naruto flopped his head to look at her. “Thank you,” he rasped.

Hinata almost cried from the euphoria of him thanking her. “That’s,” she coughed, “what friends are for!” He laughed, she laughed. They were going to graduate Friday. She was sure of it now. 


	13. Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

_DING DONG!_ The sound of the doorbell pierced the already paper-thin veil of sleep for Lord Minato. He opened eyes coated in gunk and scratchy from being up too late with too much caffeine. “Dammit!” he hissed as he rolled over.

_DING DONG!_ Minato rolled out of bed, leaving the pleasant cocoon of warmth provided by both blankets and his wife’s body. “Baby, don’t go!” Kushina yawned as she sprawled out over the spot where he had been. 

Minato stared at the alarm clock, 0243. Only one of two situations would lead to someone calling at this ungodly hour of the early morning: an emergency, or Jiraiya had returned to town on a bender and needed to sleep it off. Jiraiya would have sent a postcard if he’d been anywhere nearby. Minato, exercising an instinct learned as a young shinobi, promptly went in search of clothing. He was already dressed in a green sweat suit and halfway down the stairs when the bell began ringing frantically. _DINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONG!_

“Goddammit I’m coming already, jeez!” He shouted, surprised the noise hadn’t woken Naruto up. His son had been acting strangely when Minato got home late from work – the product of having angry parents complaining to the Hokage that Kakashi was going to cause their child to not graduate with their friends in the morning. While Minato had not fully approved of the test, he also couldn’t believe that so many parents, some former or current shinobi, were throwing such a massive fit about a test the students clearly had not prepared for. In the field, not being prepared meant getting killed more often than not.

As he reached the front door, what Minato saw, or rather didn’t seen, froze him solid. Naruto’s shoes were gone. _Impossible, why would he sneak out?_ Panic gripped Minato’s heart like a demon as he opened the door, half expecting to see the Konoha Military Police carrying Naruto home after a prank gone wrong. Instead, it was Itachi.

“Lord Hokage, we have an emergency!” Itachi struggled to keep his voice down, “There is a hostage situation, and Naruto is involved.”

“Someone’s taken Naruto! How?” Minato wracked his brain for any sign that someone had broken into the house or otherwise lured Naruto out.

“Not quite,” Itachi paused, measuring his words, “it’s damn complicated. Kakashi is already debriefing Naruto.”

“If Naruto isn’t a hostage, then who is?”

“Iruka is, as is Tsubaki,” Itachi bowed his head.

“Iruku? Tsubaki?” Minato asked, as he stumbled down his home’s front steps, feeling even more confused, “Who’s the hostage-taker?!” He began running alongside Itachi.

“Mizuki is,” Itachi sounded grim. 

When they arrived at the Academy, a group of Konoha Military Police had already formed a perimeter around one of the outbuildings. Under a nearby tree with a simple wooden swing, sat Kakashi and Naruto. 

Both rose and bowed grimly, “Father,” Naruto’s voice strained. 

“Son,” Minato replied, unsure what to feel. “Do you mind telling me what the hell happened?”

“Mizuki approached me after my last final, said he had a special final exam that I had to pass in order to graduate in the morning!”

“Which was?”

“I was to break into to the Academy archives and steal the Scroll of Seals. I then would have one hour to master any technique from the scroll in order to pass!”

Minato blew out a deep breath. Naruto looked terrified; although, Minato was unsure if his boy was scared that he wouldn’t graduate or if he’d be in trouble for what he got involved in. “And you believed him?”

“I’m afraid I may be to blame for this,” Kakashi spoke, voice deep with regret.

“Explain,” Minato commanded.

Kakashi cleared his throat, “I told Naruto he’d be assigned one more mission required to graduate. There really wasn’t -- I told it to him so he wouldn’t pull any last-minute pranks prior to the ceremony.” _Makes perfect sense!_

“Let me guess,” Minato turned to his son, “You thought that Mizuki was the one issuing the mission?”

“He even said this was per Kakashi’s orders!” Naruto lamented, “I had no reason to doubt him!”

Minato ran the scenario in his head, looking for any flaw in Naruto’s logic. He could find none. Had Jiraiya gone rogue and given the order to him as a genin, Minato would have faithfully executed those orders. For that matter, he would have expected his own students, Rin, Kakashi, and Obito to follow his orders without hesitation. _Dammit! Mizuki used our own command structure against us!_ The sound of Naruto sobbing brought Minato back to the moment at hand. “Son,” he spoke softly, “there’s no need to cry; you’re not facing arrest. You’ve been duped but that’s not a crime, given the circumstances!”

“Dad!” Naruto cried, “It’s my fault that Iruka Sensei is in there!” Naruto was nearly hysterical. Iruka had been a mentor and almost older brother to Naruto the way Kakashi was almost an uncle. Both men had worked tirelessly to get Naruto ready for finals weeks, an event that had filled Naruto with dread for almost a full year when it was first announced. “When I stole the scroll, the guards chased me! I got away and started learning the scroll. Iruka found me and convinced me it wasn’t any mission Kakashi would have given! That was when Mizuki attacked!” Naruto buried his face in his hands, “Iruka told me to run, and not let the scroll fall into the wrong hands! I ran for Uncle Kakashi, and he called the MPs!”

It took a bit to soak it all into his groggy mind, but Minato didn’t like where all of this was heading. “What is the situation in there?”

“He has Iruka in chains and sealed; so, no chance of self-rescue. Tsubaki is assumed to be the same. He’s been steadily torturing Iruka, cutting him bit by bit, since the stand-off started,” Itachi explained.

_My god!_ “What are his demands? Why aren’t we trying to storm the building?” Minato asked, but he already knew the answer.

“Mizuki has explosive tags planted throughout the house’s entry points,” Itachi explained, “and we can confirm several on Iruka.” Itachi rubbed his chin, “We speculate the other hostage is rigged similarly. As for what he wants –”

“He wants me, Dad! Me and the scroll!” Naruto interrupted.

Shocked, Minato turned to his son and then to Itachi. “It’s true, sir,” Itachi confirmed, “He’s demanding Naruto, the scroll, and clear access to the village gate within the hour; otherwise, he’ll blow the building and the hostages!”

“And what are we doing?” Minato checked his watch, there were only seven minutes left.

“We’re trying to talk him down, to no avail thus far. We have fast entry teams, but we can’t get close without tripping the tags!” Itachi ran his fingers through his silk-black hair. “He claims if we try any major chakra techniques too close by, the tags will trip.

“So, what the hell are we going to do!” Minato fumed at the unwinnable scenario before them.

“Dad, let me go in!” Naruto said. 

“Absolutely not!” Minato replied, “If he gets his hands on you or the scroll countless lives are in danger!” By now Naruto knew how dangerous Kurama could be. Admirable as trading himself for his teacher, he’d hoped his son would have realized it wouldn’t be a fair trade, if there was one. 

“Dad, I can get them out, no loss of life!” Naruto replied.

Vinegar burned in Minato’s mouth, “How! Please explain, oh great one!” He knew he shouldn’t have snapped at Naruto, but this was not the place for a child to be, especially being that his teacher was probably five minutes from being a charred husk. 

Naruto gestured with his hands, and Minato froze still. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, neither could Itachi or Kakashi. All three men could only stand with their mouths hanging open. “I’ve got a plan,” Naruto said. _I’ll be damned, this could work!_

* * *

Despite knowing his plan would work, Naruto felt his heart pounding in his chest. The life of his friend and teacher, the man who had saved him from flunking out of the Academy, was hanging in the balance. If he even screwed up even slightly, Iruka and he would both be dead. Ideally, he would find a way to save Mizuki and Tsubaki as well – especially Tsubaki. As far as Naruto could tell, Mizuki’s fiancé had nothing to do with the attempt to steal the scroll of seals.

The gravel path to the building crunched under his feet ominously; it was the only sound other than his heart thundering away at his ribs. Itachi had pulled back the MPs surrounding the building. The night became still, with a tension like it was holding its breath. Naruto felt that same tension in his stomach as the building grew larger and larger – he had to pee. 

“All right, Mizuki!” Naruto heard his voice crack, sounding anything but confident, “You win! Hand out the hostages and I’ll hand over the scroll and myself!” For a long minute, there was no reaction, no movement, and no sound coming from the house. Naruto wished for any sound to cut the tension. _Be careful what you wish for._

A loud sound of yelling came from inside the building, it sounded deep. Naruto guessed it was Iruka. There was also soft crying. It made sense it was Tsubaki. Finally, a sinister, mocking voice came from inside the building, “You hear that, Mister Uzumaki!” Mizuku always called him that when trying to stress him out. “That is the sound of your teacher with three broken ribs!” Mizuki laughed, taunting him. “Any funny business, and I’ll break three more!”

“I’m approaching the building with the scroll!” he shouted. “Don’t hurt him! I’m unarmed!” Naruto lied. Despite his youthful naivety, Naruto did not for a moment expect Mizuki to be good for his word – Itachi had one of the medics tape two shuriken to Naruto’s upper back and a Kunai across his lower back. The weapons were all in easy reach at a moment’s notice. Despite his anger toward Mizuki, Naruto prayed he wouldn’t have to use any of them.

“Hold the scroll out in front of you!” Mizuki yelled. “The door is unlatched. Keep the scroll in front of you as you enter!”

Naruto did as he was told, watching the shadows along the side of the building moving. He’d have to move quick once inside. “I’m entering!” Just past the threshold, a kunai stuck in his throat, pressing against his skin. Naruto’s breathing increased rapidly. Mizuki came into view from the shadows. The man’s once dignified look had become sinister, his grin venomous, and his eyes bloodshot red. “Take the scroll,” Naruto said.

Mizuki snatched the large scroll and its container from his hands, and Naruto felt his heart speed incredibly quicker. _If he inspects it beyond a simple visual, we’re screwed!_ “Where is Iruka!” Naruto shouted, trying to keep Mizuki fixated on him and not on the scroll. 

Mizuki laughed, pointing to a room just off the entryway. There Naruto could see Iruka tied to a chair – cut up and shirtless, but still breathing. Between the amount of blood and bruises covering the instructor’s body, Naruto guessed Iruka didn’t have long if he didn’t get to a hospital soon. Next to Iruka, Tsubaki sat tied up and gagged. Her face was coated in tears and blood spatter. _Dear God!_

Naruto felt the figures outside take their places. He’d need to distract Mizuki just a bit longer. He concentrated, thinking of any way to stretch this out. “You have what you want, let them go!”

“You’re right,” Mizuki grinned wildly, “I now also have the Hokage’s son and the Scroll of Seals!” Mizuki laughed; Naruto knew he meant to go back of his deal all along.

“You bastard!” Naruto yelled, “We had a deal!”

“Just like the deal we had with graduation!” Mizuki looked viperish. “Tell me,” he added acidly, “did you ever learn anything from this?” Mizuki wielded a shadow clone’s duplicate of the scroll. The second he opened it; the thing would disperse in a puff of smoke. 

Naruto finally curled his lips into a grin. “I learned this,” Naruto made the proper hand seal that he’d been working on with his friend, Konohamaru, for practice in class. The transformation jutsu turned Naruto from a short kid to blonde centerfold model, nude save for the puff of smoke covering the strictly female parts. Deciding to have fun with it, Naruto blew Mizuki a kiss.

The effect was instantaneous and as desired. He could hear from the corner of his hearing muffled gasps coming from the observation post outside. More importantly, Mizuki dropped the scroll as a steady stream of blood ran down his nose. Shocked, Mizuki hadn’t noticed the scroll dissolve as in struck the floor. _NOW!!!_

The army of shadow clones he summoned before approaching the house burst through the door. Like a tsunami, they swept through the entry way, a dozen swarming Mizuki and several dozen more racing toward Iruka and Tsubaki. With the efficiency of army ants, the clones swept Iruka, Tsubaki, and Mizuki outside – not a moment too soon. The cracking sound of explosive tags beginning to detonate hit Naruto with a wave of adrenaline. 

He didn’t remember getting outside, much less how far he got before the blast wave knocked him on the ground. When Naruto looked up, dust and smoke filled the air like a dense, swirling fog. There was yelling, but it sounded far away. Two meters ahead of him, he saw the scroll where his shadow clone waiting outside had dropped it. The blast wave must have hit harder than he though; all of his shadow clones were gone now. 

From the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Angry, lumbering movement carried a giant toward the scroll. _Mizuki!_ Naruto willed his legs and arms to carry him toward the scroll, and he collided body-on-body with Mizuki, knocking him away from the scroll.

“You little bastard!” Mizuki placed a backhanded fist into Naruto’s right eye, sending him stumbling. “You’re the reason this village has gone to shit! You and that bitch who married the Hokage!”

Red, seething anger consumed Naruto, “NO ONE TALK THAT WAY ABOUT MOM!!!” Something in Naruto snapped, and he pulled the kunai from his lower back. Mizuki was easily twice his height, and maybe more than double Naruto’s weight, but it didn’t matter. He had duped him, threatened his teacher, and insulted his mother. The animal stirring inside was thirsty for blood, and he had every desire to quench it. 

Naruto surged forward, tackling Mizuki around the waist. Naruto’s right shoulder burned as it made contact with firm muscle behind the man’s solar plexus. Mizuki grunted, but far from defeated, kneed Naruto hard in the center mass, sending him backwards. Mizuki followed up, wrapping his hands around Naruto’s neck, his thumbs crushing his windpipe.

The kunai was just out of reach, so Naruto did the next best thing, ramming his right thumb into Mizuki’s left eye. The man recoiled, grip loosening, and Naruto got hold of the kunai. A quick slash across the man’s face showered Naruto in blood. Mizuki screamed, and his hands withdrew instinctively to protect his face from further injury. Naruto got his legs out from under his attacker, and he kicked Mizuki with everything he had right in the baby-maker.

Mizuki’s eyes rolled back, and all color drained from his face. Naruto vaulted to his feet, not waiting for Mizuki to recover. Naruto spun a reverse roundhouse kick into Mizuki’s right eyes, and he followed with a right cross punch to the man’s nose, a sickly crunch followed as Mizuki folded like a sack for potatoes. 

The Kunai in Naruto’s right hand was still cold, thirsty for hot liquid to satiate its thirst. He brought the blade up and began driving it down in an arc with would put it in his now helpless opponent’ chest. A sudden divine intervention stopped the blade mid-swing. “I’d prefer you’d wait until you’re a genin before adding any kills to you record,” his father’s voice was firm but not harsh. Naruto let go of the kunai, letting it drop to the ground. Military police began restraining Mizuki. Naruto also saw medics working of Iruka! “Iruka!” he yelled.

“He’ll be fine, just let them work!” Minato restrained his son from running to his teacher’s side. “Now then,” Minato knelt next to his son, “let’s get you taken care of!”

At first, Naruto didn’t know what dad was taking about. However, as the adrenaline surge of battle wore off, Naruto began feeling the sting of where he’d rammed his right shoulder into Mizuki. The knuckles of his right hand burned, and his right eye throbbed – Naruto realizing that he was having trouble seeing through it. “This isn’t going to scar, is it?” He asked concerned.

“Nah,” his dad put an ice pack on Naruto’s right eye, “The black eye will be gone in a few days.” He rubbed some healing ointment on Naruto’s right hand, especially where the knuckles were starting to swell. The ointment stank like old socks as his father applied it to the front of Naruto’s neck. “He got you pretty good!”

“Dad,” Naruto choked nervously, “you’re taking this awfully well for someone who is about to disqualify his son from graduation tomorrow.”

“Why would I do something like that?” Dad asked, amused.

“I stole the Scroll of Seals,” he whined.

“Only after you were tricked into stealing it by an instructor that provided fake orders,” Dad replied.

Naruto curled his eyebrows, “So, you’re not angry?” he asked uncertainly. 

“Oh, I’m angry,” Dad smile, “angry that I had to roll out of bed at this ungodly hour, angry that one of my instructors decided to betray his village, and angry that my son’s graduation photo will include one serious black eye!”

“You mean… I’m going to graduate!” Naruto shouted excitedly.

“Just don’t take any more missions between then and now, Naruto,” Dad ruffled Naruto’s hair. Dad stood up, “Now come on, I’d like to get some sleep before the sun comes up!”

As dad walked away, Naruto stood watching his dad walk away. _I’m going to graduate!_ “I’m going to Graduate!!!” Naruto shouted to the early morning dark.


	14. Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

The First Lady of the Village Hidden in the Leaves had few official duties. Kushina savored this one every year: issuing forehead guards to the newly graduated shinobi. Wearing formal regalia, the same she wore to Minato’s inauguration, felt odd. Kushina at times barely felt like a shinobi. While she was starting to manipulate chakra again, almost any of the students here could probably outshine her. _Someday, you’ll be back to where you were. Just you wait!_

She stood up to the podium. “Good morning aspiring shinobi,” Kushina called into the microphone, “Today you all stand here as many of your parents and older siblings have before you. Everyone here this morning has endured the trials and tribulations of the Academy, and now you are ready to take the next step on your journey to being a ninja!”

A wave of hollers rose from the crowd and the assembled students. “More importantly,” Kushina resumed, “You have begun to form the bonds of friendships that will last a lifetime and beyond. And while we have all trained as warriors, it is our love for each other and our village that defines what we do. Remember when you are in the field, this village will always be with you, no matter where you go!” Another round of cheers. “And without further delay, I shall turn the ceremony over to the Fourth Lord Hokage, Minato Namikaze!”

A huge round of cheers erupted as Kushina stepped away from the podium. Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Akemi Hyūga stood beside the table with the forehead protectors. Iruka sat in a wheelchair. His injuries had been severe, but he insisted on being here. Tsunade has specially brought Iruka from the hospital to see his students graduate. 

“As I call your name, please proceed across the stage and receive your forehead protector – your badge of office!” Minato called out. He proceeded through the names alphabetically, taking special mention of anyone who was graduating with honors or with any special awards. “Hinata Hyūga, graduating with high honors,” he called out. 

Hinata, like the rest of the students, wore her mission gear – midnight blue field uniform with a bulky jacket. Unlike some girls of her class, Hinata was extremely body conscious. She approached, exchanged bows with Minato, and she was wrapped in Akemi’s embrace. Kushina and Iruka also hugged Hinata. “Congratulations, Hinata,” Kushuna tied the protector around Hinata’s head.

“Thank you, Aunt Kushina!” Hinata embraced her one more time before leaving for her seat. 

The names resumed until Minato called out “Sasuke Uchiha, graduating with high honors!” Sasuke wore mostly black with a dark blue vest. The young boy bowed to Minato and strut his way to the table. Kushina never had a good read on the boy: swaggering, melancholic, and self-assured. He appeared a boy playing at being a man, having never had a strong male role-model around enough. “Congratulations, Sasuke!” Kushina said, handing the boy’s protector to Itatchi. “Your brother requested the honor.”

Itachi approached his brother, tying the forehead protector in place. “I’m proud of you, little brother,” Itachi ruffled the boy’s dark black hair. “Now go on, we’ll celebrate together afterward!”

As a brooding Sasuke walked off stage without a word, Minato called the name she’d been waiting for, “Naruto Uzumaki, graduating with honors and the headmaster’s special achievement medal!” Naruto approached his father. Naruto wore his orange training suit, complete with a few quick patch jobs after what had happened last night. Around his neck, a red ribbon with a silver medallion was strung. Naruto bowed to his father; Minato promptly wrapped Naruto in a hug for several long moments before releasing him. 

Naruto ran over to the table; Kushina hugging him tightly. Tears of joy threatened to overwhelm her. “Congratulations, my son!” she cried gently as she tied the forehead protector around Naruto’s head. “You’ve earned it!” She kissed Naruto on the cheek before she released him, and he bowed, tears also in his eyes, “Thank you!”

“Don’t get all misty eyed on me, mister,” Iruka joked as Naruto walked over and hugged him. “Ahh, Naruto!” Iruka cried, “You’re going to break my other ribs!”

“Don’t expect a kiss from me,” Kakashi laughed as Naruto let go of Iruka and ran to his uncle for a hug. The excitement over, Naruto returned to his seat. Kushina couldn’t wait for the ceremony to end as Minato called out more names; she was looking forward to having lunch at Ichiraku’s with her newly graduated son. 

After the last name was called, Minato began his short closing remarks. However, Kushina didn’t hear a word of them as her eyes trained on a figure standing at the back of the crowd, a man she hadn’t seen in years. Her heart stood still as she recognized the man’s bulk, mostly muscle, and his spikey grey hair. The man gave a wicked grin, a slight wave, and a mock salute. He also blew a kiss toward the stage, causing Minato to briefly pause his speech to stifle a laugh. From the corner of her eye, Kushina could see Tsunade’s cheeks turn pink. _Jiraiya is back!_

* * *

“Everyone line up and stand near your sensei when your name is called!” Kakashi called out from the stage. The assignment of teams was normally a big deal for freshly graduated shinobi. However, Hinata felt anything but excitement. Teams would become essentially family. She would see them every day, train with them, go on missions with them. She would form a friendship with her team that would last a lifetime.

Gray waves of disappointment washed over her at the thought. Like the time she had looked at her birthday presents with her Byakugan a few years ago, she had spoiled this big moment not once, but twice. Kakashi had the list in his pocket during the ceremony, and she had read it while using her Byakugan while walking up to the stage. She knew what team everyone would be on before anyone else; she also knew that Naruto wouldn’t be on her team. 

She looked over at Naruto; he was still beaming with a brilliant smile despite the black eye. He hadn’t told her the whole story, but she had a feeling whatever caused it was the reason he had the Headmaster’s Medal around his neck. While she was happy for him, her heart sank. She would miss training with him daily, much the way she’d miss after-school reading class with him. Hinata knew the odds were against her getting on the same team with Naruto with dozens of classmates and only three members per team. She had prepared for this for some time. She liked Kiba and Shino, her teammates on Team Eight, and Sensei Kurenai was a sweet woman and capable instructor. 

“Team Seven, led by me, step forward when called!” Kakashi called aloud. _It’s not like you won’t see him; it just won’t be as much!_ She didn’t know why she felt so apprehensive at the split. Maybe it was the fact that they’d been friends since she could remember, or maybe it was that she always felt stronger when he was near. “Sakura Haruno,” Sakura walked to her spot in front of Kakashi. She wore a traditional red top and khaki capris. “Naruto Uzumaki!”

“Good luck, Hinata!” Naruto patted her on the back as he walked away. Right now, she wished she could rush the stage and change the list before Kakashi read Sasuke Uchiha’s name. 

“And Hinata Hyūga!” _Wait, what!?!_ Hinata shot wide open. She had heard of having an auditory hallucination, but this took the cinnamon roll. “Hinata,” Kiba said, “you’d better get up there; your boyfriend might think you’ve got cold feet!” Kiba gave a solid laugh. 

The reference to Naruto as a boyfriend made her cheeks turn red. Hinata slowly stumbled toward the stage in front of Kakashi, still not believing the situation. _This has to be a dream! No way, you saw the list yourself!_ As she approached, she activated her Byakugan, seeing the writing on the page. Team Seven and Team Eight had names crossed out and other names written in.

“Team Eight! Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuku, and Sasuke Uchiha!” The three boys stepped in front of Kurenai. Things still didn’t make sense. She was supposed to be on that team over there, and Sasuke was supposed to be here. _A dream, this has to be a dream!_

“Hinata, you okay?” Sakura asked.

“I-I think so,” she stammered.

“This totally blows,” Sakura huffed, “I was hoping to be on Sasuke’s team; instead, I’m stuck with this loser,” Sakura pointed a thumb at Naruto. 

“Loser?” Naruto spoke with mock-offense, “Just remember,” he held out the medal on his neck, “you don’t get this because you’re a loser!” He was about to say something else, when he paused, looking at Hinata. “Hinata, are you not feeling well?” He put a hand on her forehead. 

Hinata shook from where his hand made contact, and she could feel herself turning red. _Get a grip!_ “No-no,” she stammered, “I-I’m fine, really, Naruto!” She took his hand and slid it off her forehead. For a moment she froze, realizing she was holding his hand. She let his hand go and pulled her arm back rapidly, as did he. “I’m fine, really,” she said nervously, “just a bit in shock! I thought for sure I’d be on another team!”

“After a few weeks of his antics, you’ll wish you were on another team!” Sakura laughed. “But seriously, welcome to Team Seven!” Sakura patted her on the arm. 

After team assignment was over, Kakashi informed them to be at training area three at 0600 tomorrow morning. The team would be facing its test to officially become genin-ranked ninja immediately. _Barely twenty-four hours out of the academy; I guess this is the real thing!_

He dismissed them, and Naruto and Sakura ran off toward their families. Hinata stayed near Kakashi for a moment. “Something on your mind, Hinata?” he asked.

“K-Kakashi… I,” stumbled, tapping her fingers together, “I thought…”

“You thought you were going to be on another team?” he asked.

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Because, you were until about an hour ago,” he told her. “I didn’t even have time to change my notes until just now.” 

“What changed?”

“Lord Minato and I discussed some security issues this morning after a bizarre incident last night,” Kakashi stretched his neck nervously, “Your Jonin-Sensei would have to know you were a jinchuriki for safety reasons,” he explained. “After the incident last night, we figured the fewer people who know about it, the better. So, we decided it was best if we keep you and Naruto on the same team—my team.”

“Kakashi,” she asked nervously, “what happened last night?” She tapped her fingers several times before he answered.

“Mizuki, Naruto’s former instructor, went rouge,” he scanned the area for anyone listening, “He knew about Nine Tails, and he tried to take Naruto away. We think he was acting on outside orders from someone targeting Naruto and anyone carrying Nine-Tails.”

She nodded, understanding the implication. “That’s why we think it’d be best if no one else knew about the incident, or that you are also carrying Nine-Tails as well.” Kakashi hunched down to her height, “That’s why we have to keep this a secret, especially from your former classmates, including Sakura.”

“My lips are sealed!” she nodded.

“Good,” he smiled, “now go on and meet up with your family, Hinata! I’m sure they’re dying to celebrate your graduation! Eat, drink, and be merry; but don’t stay up too late! We have a long day at the training ground starting at 0600 tomorrow morning!”

As Kakashi walked away, Hinata felt a pang of disappointment. Father, her Uncle Hizashi, and Cousin Neji had been called on clan business and had missed the ceremony. While having Mom present was something, Hinata couldn’t help but be jealous of Naruto. Deep down, she wished she was going to celebrate with his family and not just her and Mom. With the exception of the short moment before the water survival final, things had been getting tense at home. Hanabi had gone from her sweet little sister to withdrawn and cold since starting the academy. The clan elders were increasingly indifferent if not outright cold to her, the clan heir. And then there was father. Ever since Mom had been diagnosed with cancer, his hair was greying, and lines of worry were chiseling into his face. When Mom was sick, he had all but quit training her, and after Mom recovered, he never resumed her training the way he had before.

If it wasn’t for Naruto and his family, she would have been sent back to the academy for remedial training instead of graduating today. Deep in her heart, she knew something bad was coming. Standing here at the now mostly deserted graduation field, she felt alone and uncertain as ever. She knew only one thing for certain: she would be at the training ground at 0600 and Naruto would be there. _As long as I have that, everything will be fine!_

* * *

Minato waited for the crowd to disperse before vaulting off stage toward Jiraiya. He hadn’t seen his master since shortly after Naruto’s birth. “Jiraiya!” he shouted as he sprinted across the field. 

He wrapped his arms around the man who had taught him to be a ninja. “Easy, son!” Jiraiya chuckled, “the ladies might think I’m spoken for!”

“Grandpa!” Naruto exclaimed. Naruto had only seen Jiraiya in photos and read the traveling ninja’s postcards from faraway lands – this was the first time he’d seen him in person. Naruto wrapped his arms around Jiraiya’s waist.

“Oh my!” Jiraiya laughed excitedly, “he’s getting so big, what have you been feeding him!”

“I promise it’s more than just salt ramen!” Kushina laughed as she joined the group hug. She gave Jiraiya a gentle peck on the cheek, “It’s so good to see you, old man!”

“Age is just a state of mind,” Jiraiya grinned. “And it’s great to see you too, Kushina, looking good!”

“Jiraiya…” Minato recognized the haunted voice of Tsunade. 

“Hello, gorgeous. Long time, no see,” Jiraiya smiled crookedly to his old teammate. 

“It’s… good to see you, Jiraiya…” Tsunade’s cheeks turned pink. Minato couldn’t tell if it was embarrassment, regret, or some other strange mix of emotion, “I have to go… Iruka needs to be taken back to the hospital.” She turned and began walking away, but she paused, “It’s good to see you Jiraiya,” she said over her shoulder before she left. 

“What was that about?” Naruto asked, confused.

“Adult stuff, kiddo,” Minato ruffled his son’s hair. “Now how about you and Mom get to Ichiraku’s and Jiraiya and I will meet you there in a little bit, okay?”

Kushina and Naruto beamed, “Believe it!” Both of them took off. 

Minato turned to look back at his friend and mentor. “I see married life is still treating you well,” Jiraiya winked.

“Very well, you should try it sometime,” Minato quipped.

Jiraiya laughed, “Me? Married? That’s hysterical, Lord Fourth!”

“Still holding a torch for the one that got away?” Minato rubbed his chin. “That _is_ why you play around so much, isn’t it?” Minato as a boy had always wondered why his master, the perverted sage, tried his best to have a different woman in his bed every night. Minato loved Jiraiya as a father, and Jiraiya loved him like the son he’d never have. However, that didn’t mean he always approved of his master. 

“That’s easy for you to say,” Jiraiya crossed his arms and mock scowled, “For you, the one never got away!”

“Did you ever try talking with her and not ogling her?”

“Kid, let me tell ya, I’ve been after her since you were nothing but an argument your parents decided to make up over,” Jiraiya chuckled. “Believe it or not, I did come here on important business, not just for my personal pleasure.”

“I thought so,” Minato sighed, “It must be pretty damn important then.”

“I know about Orochimaru and what happened with Danzo,” Jiraiya stared at the ground, “Damn shame about Danzo.”

“Mizuki did something similar just last night,” Minato explained. “Do you think Obito is involved?”

“To an extent, yes,” Jiraiya ran his fingers through his hair, “but I don’t think directly. Obito wouldn’t work with some two-bit thug like Mizuki, and he’d as soon murder Danzo as work with him.” Jiraiya paused, “Like many grand schemes, there are usually many smaller, personally motivated schemes weaved into the plotlines.”

Minato nodded, “So, he is still out there?”

“Obito has been sighted, yes, but I have no idea what he’s waiting for,” Jiraiya said gravely. “Of course, there is more I need to tell you.”

“Like what?” Minato curled his brow.

“For one, I know Naruto is turning twelve in a few days.”

“And turning thirteen next year, I know.”

Jiraiya rubbed his chin nervously, “You realize that seal won’t last much longer. He’s turning into a man, and he will soon have to face things as a man.”

Minato nodded, “I know. I somehow always prayed this would never happen, but here we stand… and it’s worse than that.”

“Worse?” Jiraiya said, shocked.

“Kushina still can barely use chakra, and her seal is starting to fail. And Hinata’s is failing even faster than the other two’s.”

“How is that possible?” Jiraiya tilted his head, “She’s only carrying a quarter of it.”

“I can only speculate,” Minato began, “that someone with Uzumaki blood can better hold a tailed-beast better than anyone else… that and…”

“And?”

“And things have been rough for the Hyūga clan lately,” Minato explained, “Akemi had a tricky fight with breast cancer, almost died. Hiashi, never a great man with kids, has been as hard-ass as ever, and…”

“And what?” Jiraiya asked sharply.

“Much of the clan disapproves of the fact that their heir has been training with my family and not theirs.”

“They always were an arrogant and stubborn bunch, rightfully so in some cases,” Jiraiya pinched the pressure point on the bridge of his nose against a headache, “almost as bad as the Uchiha Clan.”

“Actually, they mellowed a lot since I did them a huge favor a few years ago – Danzo was planning on murdering them all.”

“So that’s what caused him to fall out of favor…” Jiraiya said in some level of realization. 

“Back to the Hyūga Clan, though, I think the environment is getting toxic for Hinata. Most of the clan wants to replace her as heir, and I think her father is on the fence, too.”

“All that stress is degrading the seal on Kyuubi faster than expected,” Jiraiya shook his head. “By the way, he perked up, you’re not trying to arrange a marriage between her and Naruto, are you?”

Minato was truly shocked. _That came out of nowhere!_ “What do you mean? What makes you say that?” he asked.

“You and Kushina train her along side her son, you treat her like she’s your daughter, and you make a last minute change to put her on the same team with Naruto… Wait a minute,” Jiraiya tilted his chin mischievously, “You put him on a team with two girls…”

“He’s not a player, like you, Jiraiya,” Minato scolded the old man. “And as for the whole thing with Naruto and Hinata, I’ll let them decide how that plays out. Treating her like a daughter is the least we can do considering we’re the reason part of Nine-Tails is sealed in her. Besides,” Minato extracted a set of bells from his pocket, “I think they’re going to have their hands a bit full to worry about things like teenage romance.” Minato smiled at the sight of the old bells. _If these things could talk, what would they say?_

“Uh huh,” Jiraiya said tongue in cheek, “right.”

Minato knew to let the subject drop. “Was there anything else, or are you finally getting hungry?” He asked as he put the test bells back in his pocket.

“One last thing, then Ichiraku’s sounds amazing,” Jiraiya reached around in his bag, reaching for something clearly buried. “Ah here it is!” He extracted a scroll.

“What’s that?” Minato asked intently.

“It might be the answer to at least one of our prayers, but I’ll need a medical-nin to make sense of it,” Jiraiya paused, “It’s a scroll chronicling a technique to repair damaged chakra nodes. I think, at least I hope, the technique it references is still in the archives.”

Minato’s heart skipped a few beats, “You think we could use it to help Kushina!”

“It’s possible,” Jiraiya raised a finger of caution, “I don’t want to get your hopes up too soon,” he sighed putting the scroll back, “The problem is the person I need to help me figure it out.”

“Tsunade,” Minato realized where the man’s apprehension was coming from.

“Yup,” Jiraiya confirmed, “the one and only.”

“You know, she got over her fear of blood,” Minato reminded him.

“I know, you told me about running to find her as Kushina lay dying in the Hospital the night Naruto was born,” Jiraiya sighed, “I always knew my path would cross with hers again.”

“You know, it’s been long enough,” Minato said, “Perhaps it’s time to try rekindle the friendship.”

“Heh,” he laughed, “That will be the day!” Jiraiya sighed, “That would really be something…”

“Are you going to keep pining after her forever, trying to replace her night after night?”

“Forever,” Jiraiya smiled, “Is a long time, my son.”

“Speaking of,” Minato asked, “How long are you staying this time?”

“I hadn’t decided, why?”

“Jiraiya, as Hokage I don’t have the time needed to train Naruto as he should be,” Minato explained. “You’re always so good with children, especially at that age!”

“Oh, fine, I’ll stay and train him; you’ve twisted my arm,” he chuckled deeply.

“You were planning on training him anyhow, weren’t you?” Minato shot him a wry glance.

“Damn right, somebody’s got to make sure the child of prophecy is ready for the big day!”

“You still believe that prophecy?”

“You do, otherwise you wouldn’t have let him know about Nine-Tails.” Jiraiya became grim, “Storm is coming.”

“I felt it, too,” Minato bowed his head, “I really wish he didn’t have to face it.”

“Kid, no more than I wanted you to go off to war. I’ve sent too many young men to their deaths only to never face my own.” Jiraiya’s frown morphed into a smile, “But enough sad shit! I’m hungry!”


	15. Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Naruto marked his target from overhead, trying to focus through the dizzy haze of hunger and exhaustion. Dad had insisted he eat a protein bar before leaving for the third training ground this morning. At first, Naruto thought it was dad being overbearing; however, after arriving, Naruto realized it was an act of mercy. Naruto had arrived with ten minutes to spare, Hinata five, and Sakura with only seconds to go. 

The bell test had started immediately – no breakfast, no breaks, and no mercy. _“Good morning, Team Seven! Today’s test is a test of skill and a test of wills!”_ Naruto still heard Kakashi’s greeting circling in his head. Kakashi had ordered them to drop their lunch boxes in the center of the training ground. Kakashi then informed them that the objective of the test was to seize one of the two bells he was carrying on his vest before sundown. They had three days to successfully complete the test to be promoted to genin. Anyone who hadn’t seized a bell by that time would be sent back to the Academy. You were also forbidden to touch your lunch unless you’d seized a bell.

Of course, hunger wasn’t the only opponent they were up against. Kakashi planned unique penalties for each of them for any failed attempt to seize a bell. If you failed and he managed to mark you with a penalty tag, you had to stop everything and pay the penalty before being allowed to resume the test. Naruto’s penalty consisted of having to complete a math workbook page. Each question answered wrong meant ten pushups. Hinata had to read aloud a full chapter from a trashy romance novel; it was ten pushups every time she was too embarrassed to read a particular passage aloud. Sakura’s punishment involved running with a pitcher from wherever she had been caught back to the river near the training ground’s entrance. She then had to fill the pitcher and carry it back to where she had been penalized. Every minute she took over fifteen minutes was ten pushups. If the pitcher was less than three-quarters full, it was another ten, and if it was less than half, thirty. 

Needless to say, they had great incentive to not screw up. Unfortunately, Naruto had just finished page fifteen in his workbook, taking extra caution to double-check his work. On page twelve he’d screwed up royally for a penalty of seventy pushups – a mistake he didn’t repeat again. He knew Kakashi was trying to teach them lessons individually, and he was also trying to teach them a lesson as a group, but this was getting ridiculous. All three of them were exhausted and no closer to getting one of the bells. 

_It has to work this time, I don’t think any of us has any more energy!_ He nodded, signaling to his shadow clones – almost a dozen of them – to get in place around the clearing. He had tried a swarm tactic with a large number of clones earlier with near success, but physical and mental exhaustion now made it difficult to summon and coordinate even the handful he’d summoned. 

Kakashi sat, reading from one of the trashy romance novels, laughing. Whether or not he knew Naruto was here and was taunting him, Naruto wasn’t sure. He silently counted as he ticked off on his fingers, _three… two….one… GO!!!_

Naruto dropped from the branch holding him, gravity clutching him like a greedy thief. He immediately noticed something was wrong. _He’s not reacting at all… oh SHIT!!!_ As Naruto and his clones converged, Kakashi dissolved in a puff of smoke. Thankfully, the clones had mostly broken his fall – they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Unfortunately, the book that Kakashi’s shadow clone had been reading started to crackle. Naruto barely started to move away before the concussive blast threw him like a shuriken. 

As Naruto flew through the air, he felt something slap him on the rump. He landed at the edge of the clearing. Kakashi was again in full view in the center of the clearing, and Naruto had a penalty tag stuck on the butt of his pants. _Could this get any worse!_

The sensation of being kicked in the back and crushed under the weight of another human answered his question. Sakura tripped over him in a full sprint and spilled the full contents of the pitcher over both of them, turning the ground they were on into mud.

Kakashi walked up to them, picking up the empty pitcher. “Empty pitcher,” he paused to check his watch, “and you’re five minutes late! That’s a hundred pushups!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Sakura screeched.

“No, but I’ll cut you a deal: if you can convince Naruto nicely, I’ll let him split it half-and-half,” Kakashi said.

“Naruto,” Sakura gave him puppy-dog eyes. 

“Kyaa!!!” Hinata sprung from the edge of the clearing. Her Byakugan was fully activated and her chakra glowed purple in her hands as she attacked Kakashi. Much to Naruto’s surprise, Kakashi dodged and blocked with real concern. Hinata swept at his ankles, and he barely got clear of her strike. She came at him aggressively, repeating palm strikes toward his abdomen. For the first time, Kakashi looked truly concerned as he met every strike with a block. Finally, he turned outward, letting her strike slip past him. As Hinata swung through nothingness, Kakashi slapped a penalty tag on her back with enough force to make her fall facedown on the ground.

“You almost had it, Hinata,” he tossed down one of his novels, “but you’ll have to do better,” Kakashi said, staring straight at Naruto. _If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was trying to tell me something._ “Naruto, Sakura,” he barked, “that’s fifty pushups each, a workbook page, and another trip to the river.” Kakashi paused to stretch, “When you finish your penalties, that’s exercise over for the day.”

 _Dammit!_ Naruto assumed pushup position and began pressing with his sore arms, as did Sakura. Hinata meanwhile stammered her way describing Lord Yamamoto’s washboard abs and his polished wooden staff of pleasures. _Who the hell actually reads that crap?_ As Naruto pushed, he could clearly see poor Hinata turning red as the story got more and more descriptive. Thankfully, even Kakashi had his limits – the stories skipped the more salacious details in favor of cheesy euphemisms.

He was at pushup forty when Hinata started describing Lady Imagawa’s blushing bosom as Lord Yamamoto’s fingers began caressing her silky neck. Curiously, Naruto caught a glimpse of Kakashi’s right eye growing wide, and the portions of his cheeks not covered by his mask were turning pink with blush. _He actually likes this stuff?!_ Indeed, Kakashi seemed momentarily stunned by the lead up to whatever came next that he hadn’t noticed Hinata stammering in embarrassment, unable to read further. 

Kakashi seemed to notice Naruto staring, “Hinata, ten pushups, then you can finish the chapter.” He turned to Naruto, “And when you’re done, please crack out page sixteen, Naruto!”

Not wanting additional crap thrown his way, Naruto pumped out the last ten pushups before pulling out his workbook. The sound of Hinata reading the stupid book, and the contents of said book, made it difficulty to concentrate. Nevertheless, everything added up when he double checked his arithmetic. Kakashi hadn’t moved an inch from his spot as Naruto handed in the paper. Hinata, now hoarse from reading several chapters aloud, also turned in the book to Kakashi. Finally, Sakura ran approached, out of breath, full pitcher in hand. “Satisfactory,” Kakashi said. “We’ll meet here at 0600 tomorrow.”

As Kakashi led the group back to the main gate of the village, no one spoke. Naruto’s arms hung limply like rubber chew toys. Everything hurt, and he couldn’t even raise his head to stare at either Hinata or Sakura. If he could clear his head and focus, he felt like he could see the way. But right now, tired, hungry, and hurting, all Naruto could think about was going home in shame – _not a genin today._

* * *

Kushina Uzimaki stood rigid upright in her old mission gear, a black jumpsuit with a dark-forest green vest, and her old forehead guard. Storing some of Naruto’s old things, she had found it buried in mothballs. The suit beckoned to her, like it had been quietly waiting for her to find it. Much to her surprise, it still fit like a glove – the way it had the last time she took it off. 

Her tenure as a jonin-sensei had been cut short by her pregnancy with Naruto. Prior to that, she had worn this outfit during the war. As she stood in her backyard, the family training ground, that distant time suddenly felt close again. Lord Third had made her sit most of the war out as a medical-nin, fearful of what might happen if she were captured. Nevertheless, battle found he when she was assisting the evacuation of a smaller village, only to be ambushed. She had saved her medical team that day; she had been the only member of the group still proficient in combat. 

For moment, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Kushina stretched for a moment, and she launched herself into a kata – a prearranged battle form. The particular one she started as she lunged diagonally into a low block was known as the Maelstrom of Fire. Kushina rose from a kneeling block to an ostrich-neck strike. She reverse-kicked with her left as she leapt into a forward spinning roundhouse at the same target.

The moves were meant to mimic a battle with many opponents. She blocked, struck, and kicked in rhythm she had remembered since childhood. This was grandma Mito’s favorite kata to watch her perform, and she had performed it at a tournament at the Fall Festival once. Of course, the kata was meant to be performed with a dazzling display of fire-release techniques – techniques buried in ability, but not in memory. 

_Dammit, try!_ Kushina summoned her chakra, but it already felt off balance. When she had first taken on Nine-Tails as a Jinchuriki, the incredible magnification of her chakra made simple movements, even ones already mastered, difficult to control much that a child watering a garden would have trouble controlling a firehose. _You beat it once, do it again!_ Kushina felt her fingertips heating up as she focused through pain surging through her old wound. 

She spun again, this time, her fingertips glowed. She made the hand gesture as she breathed in deep, drawing her hands close, expelling flames from her mouth into the tips of her fingers. At the moment, she was equal parts elated and exhausted. As a child, she could have done this in her sleep, but now it took everything she had and more just to maintain this. 

_“Reunite us!”_ a voice called in her head.

“Kyuubi?!” she gasped, startled.

“Mom? Who are you talking to?”

Kushina’s concentration broke at the sound of Naruto’s voice, and she dropped to one knee. As she dropped, the flames extinguished with her loss of concentration. “Naruto?” she turned to him, momentarily confused.

“Mom, what are you doing?” he asked.

“Oh, I found my old mission gear,” she explained, “I just wanted a chance to be young like you again, I guess.” She laughed. Kushina stared at her little shinobi: his orange outfit was covered in dirt, grass, and minor blood stains. Any other mother would be worried by such an appearance of her son. Anymore, this was business as usual. “How did the bell test go?”

“Fine,” he said despondently. His arms hung limply at his sides, and his body slouched forward – a telltale sign Naruto had not become a genin today.

She said in grass, her legs apart. “Sit with me, son,” she patted the ground between her knees. 

“I just want to go inside and rest, Mom, seriously,” he whined.

 _Time for some pressure._ “Son,” she chirped, “do you really want to pout like this? I can call Hinata and Sakura over, and I can show them those nice baby pictures I kept of you!” Kushina smiled as Naruto began to sweat.

“Y-you wouldn’t dare!” his face turned red.

“I seem to remember that fine picture of you running around in your dad’s Hokage headdress and nothing else!” she giggled and grinned as she patted the ground again. Naruto had actually been wearing his diaper for that photo, but he clearly didn’t remember that as he rushed to plop himself down in front of his her. _I wonder if Akemi does the same to Hinata…_

She hugged her son, rocking him gently. Naruto moved like a ragdoll in her arms. She knew he had to be tired and had to be hurting from head to toe right now. “Let me show you a something I know they don’t teach at the academy,” she said, digging both thumbs in his overdeveloped trapezius muscles.

“Ouch! Ouch!” he protested.

“Relax, Naruto,” she instructed as she kneaded his overly tense shoulders. He continued to squirm for a moment until he finally relaxed. “You are really tight,” Kushina said as she pinned a muscle knot and stretched it back and forth a few times. “Bad day?”

“I got my ass kicked, Mom,” he said ripe with defeat.

“Tell me about it,” she said as she began stretching his hypertonic pec muscles on his left side. He gave a wince of protest, but he did tell her everything. “I see,” she said. “Still,” she paused to stretch him again, “I think you did well all things considered.”

“Well?” Naruto sounded shocked, “Mom, we lost day one, not even close, any of us!”

“What did you learn today?” she asked.

“I learned that pushups suck, and so does math!”

“What did you _learn,_ ” she stressed her words, “Certainly you must have learned something about either yourself or the challenge!”

“I know the point of the test is to work together!” he replied

“Good!”

“But I don’t know how!” Naruto whined, “We tried attacking all at one time, attacking in waves, and attacking solo! None of it worked!”

“Then you don’t understand everything yet, that’s not a crime,” Kushina turned her attention back to his neck trying to stretch him, to get him ready for another hard day in a few hours. 

“But Mom, we only have two more days!”

“So, I reiterate, what did you learn about the test? You already know what he wants you to learn – to work together. Where did you fail?”

“I…” he paused, “Mom, why are you helping me with this? Isn’t this kind of a…” he searched for the term, “…conflict or something?”

Kushina laughed, “I’m not a jonin-sensei anymore, Naruto. I’m your mom; every mom wants to see her son succeed.” She stopped working on his shoulders, giving him a chance to move his neck and shoulders. “Feel better?”

“Yeah,” he grunted as he moved his right shoulder around, “surprisingly yes.”

“Happy to teach you more after dinner,” she said. “Getting back to the test,” she crossed her arms, “have you considered his method of penalties might be a clue to how to beat him?”

“I thought of it,” a lightbulb when on in Naruto’s eyes, “but getting the others to go along might be a problem.”

“How so?” she tilted her head, curiously.

“I always thought a team worked together as equals… this would mean asking the other two to sacrifice,” his voice dropped uncertainly.

“If it means the success of the whole group, that’s called leading,” Kushina corrected him, “and every team, no matter how big or small, needs a leader, even if unofficially. How do you think your father became Hokage? How do you think you’ll become Hokage one day?”

“And here I thought it was his sense of humor and his good looks!” Jiraiya’s voice called from the back gate. 

She and Naruto laughed, “Come on in, Jiraiya!” she waved him in. 

“I see my grandson has been for a roll in the dirt,” he said as he walked through the gate, “let me guess, two bells on a moving target for three people?”

“How did you know?” Naruto asked in wonderment.

“My sensei,” Jiraiya paused, looking to the evening sky fondly reminiscing, “did the same to me, I did the test to Minato, and he did the same to Kakashi.” Jiraiya smiled fondly, “And someday, you’ll do the same for your students.”

“But why only two bells?” Naruto asked, “it’s so unfair!”

Jiraiya laughed, “Life isn’t fair. That is why a ninja never gives up, especially when he fails!”

“Dad’s motto,” Naruto said.

“Who do you think taught him,” Jiraiya winked. “Being that you are my grandson, and I’m the irresponsible grandfather,” he grinned, “I’ll let you know a little secret to winning the test.” He gestured for Naruto to lean in. “Don’t worry about being the one to get a bell; a true leader buts his team’s needs ahead of his own; just as a Hokage puts the needs of the village ahead of his own.”

“But if I fail and the others move on,” he said.

“We’ll still be proud of you, even if you go back to the academy,” Kushina reassured him. “As long as you did your best and learned from your mistakes, I’ll always be proud to call you my son!” Kushina smiled. 

“Hey sport,” Jiraiya said, “not to break this up, but would you mind letting me talk to your mom alone for a minute?”

Kushina patted Naruto on the shoulders, “Get cleaned up for dinner, and we’ll talk more later, son!” Naruto took off for the house, spring back in his step. “Thanks for helping out there Jiraiya.”

“He already knows what he needs to do. It will make his birthday the best damn birthday when Kakashi makes him a genin tomorrow or the next day.”

“So, what did you need from me,” Kushina asked.

“I need your help,” he looked nervous.

“With?”

“I need your help meeting with Tsunade,” he blurted out.

“If you need help getting a date, I’m afraid I’m not the best person to consult,” she laughed.

“I’m serious,” Jiraiya chided her, “I found what I was looking for, but I need her help making sense of it!”

“And that is?” she asked.

“This,” he showed her an ancient medical scroll. 

It looked like it dated to the time of the founding of the village. The words on the scroll were archaic in script and dialect, but Kushina could make sense of it. “A technique for repairing a damaged chakra network…” she said curiously as she turned to Jiraiya; he nodded. “How sure are you that this works?”

“I’m not, but I came across several old records of it being done. Tsunade would be the only medical-nin capable of assessing how feasible it would be, but the possibility…”

“Having my chakra back in control…” Kushina felt euphoric just saying the words. “There is a catch?”

“I’m not sure how Nine-Tails would play into it, even with only a quarter of it,” he crossed his arms. “Ideally, we’d finish transferring completely.”

Kushina shook her head, “Naruto isn’t ready, you know that.”

“Who was talking about Naruto?” he asked grimly.

 _Oh gods, he can’t be serious!_ “She’s only a child!”

“So were you.”

“She’s already been traumatized by having a quarter of it, she isn’t ready for that kind of burden!” Kushina shouted.

“Neither were you.” He nodded slowly.

“But her seal is already failing…”

“So is yours,” he reminded her, “And I have a theory on that.”

“Do tell!” Kushina shouted as she got to her feet, “how would you convince me to force that future on Hinata!”

“For one, she started it, if memory serves. For two, I know about the things going on at the Hyūga home – that’s partially why it’s failing so fast,” he paused.

“And the other reason?” she asked, wrinkling her face.

“When you all broke Nine-Tails up, Naruto got all of the yin chakra, mostly negative energy with a small bit of positive. You and Hinata split the yang chakra, mostly positive energy, but a small touch of negative energy.”

“What’s your point?”

“Hinata absorbed the small bit of negative energy that came with the yang chakra, and you got all positive energy. If we reunite your part with hers, it might slow or stop the seal from degrading.” Jiraiya explained.

“That’s crazy!”

“Is it?” he asked, “how else can you explain why the positive yang chakra is breaking her seal so fast?”

Kushina tried in her head to explain it, but she had no way of explaining. Jiraiya’s words made too much sense; she did not want to believe them. “Jiraiya, she’ll never be free of it if we bond that much of Nine-Tails to her! It might kill her if she ever needs to give it to Naruto!” she cried.

“I know,” he rocked back on his heels, “You know,” he crossed his arms, looking at the ground, “There is an archaic translation of the scroll describing the child of prophecy. In the ancient form, it means ‘children’ of prophecy.” He smiled, “It never said how many there would be.”

“Jiraiya… she…” Kushina stumbled looking for words.

“Is going through too much right now? I agree parents need to give their children love so they turn out right,” he stared at her intently, “not all children have one set of parents. Minato still views me as his father; Kakashi and Iruka view Naruto as the son neither will ever have…” Jiraiya paused, measuring his words, “… much as Hinata is the daughter you’ll never have.”

Kushina nodded. “I don’t want her to come to any harm because of me.”

“Kushina, shielding her from this would be detrimental to her, every bit as much as shielding Naruto from the reality of what he carries,” he shrugged, “In the long run, it might be to here benefit.”

“But Jiraiya,” she reminded him, “Her parents would never go along with this, even if I could convince Tsunade.”

Jiraiya shook his head, “In a day or two, that won’t matter. A genin does not have to seek a parent’s permission in matters of life and death. I have every confidence that she and my grandson will be genin in the next forty-eight hours.”

Kushina struggled with the implications of what Jiraiya was suggesting. On one hand, he was right about everything; on the other hand, this felt incredibly self-serving. Just the thought of asking Hinata felt wrong. _Is there a right in any of this? If you continue to do nothing, her seal will fail by the time she’s thirteen and yours about the same damn time!_ “I’ll talk to Tsundade,” she choked, “and see what I can do. But I’ll wait until the bell test is over before talking to Hinata.”


	16. Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Hinata Hyūga’s voice cracked as she read aloud, “ _Lord Yamamoto took Lady Imagawa in his arms. Porcelain white makeup disguised the flowering red lust in her cheeks but not in her wide, obsidian eyes as he slid back her kimono.”_ On day one, it had been embarrassing having to read this trash aloud. She had learned more about various euphemisms for sex and the naughty parts of the body than she’d cared to learn. While Kakashi had not forced her to read anything truly graphic, the oblique references had been stressful enough for someone bashful as she was. The stress of reading severely triggered her dyslexia. Each time she stumbled, got lost, or simply found herself too embarrassed to carry on; she had to pay a penalty of ten pushups. Yesterday, after pushup three hundred, Hinata stopped counting.

Out of the right rear quarter of her vision, Hinata spied Naruto approaching from behind Kakashi. “ _Her pearl white body glowed in the pale moonlight!”_ Hinata raised her voice in a signal to Naruto that she was at the end of this passage. _I hope this stunt of his is worth it!_ She resumed, “ _Lord Yamamoto lay back as she climbed atop him, admiring his waxwood staff…”_

“Shadow clone Jutsu!” Naruto yelled as he burst forth from the bushes.

Much to Hinata’s surprise, Kakashi did not react immediately, even to such an overtly announced attack. Her rapidly beating heart counted about seven beats before Kakashi’s widely distracted right eye focused. About three more beats passed as Kakashi flung three shuriken toward Naruto’s shadow clones. Naruto sprung from around the tree and made clumsily for the bells. As planned, he let himself get slapped with a penalty tag. ‘’Page twenty-five, Naruto!” Kakashi taunted him. “You’re starting to make me worry, kiddo!” Kakashi turned to Hinata, “ten pushups, then you can leave the clearing.”

Hinata’s arms burned, and her hands ached as she pushed into cold, moist ground. Her hand slipped on a patch of moss that slid on the muddy ground, causing her to faceplant into the squishy ground. Nevertheless, she got back up and finished. _I hope this was worth it; I can’t take much more of this!_ Hunger and physical exhaustion threatened to take her as she staggered away from the clearing to the agreed rendezvous point.

Her mind wandered in circles as she struggled to clear mud off her black uniform. Despite the chill in the air, she had ditched her jacket in favor of greater freedom of movement of her arms and the fact that she had almost overheated in it yesterday after doing so many pushups. Cousin Neji had been mildly sympathetic, at least offering a thin smile as she entered the compound yesterday. Father on the other hand, had been full of stony disappointment, berating her for not coming home a genin on day one. Hinata had no desire to go home tonight, knowing full well they wouldn’t be coming home genin tonight, either. 

She curled up on a fallen tree, a bulwark against the cold as much as her usual instinct to being scared. As much as she hated the bell test, she’d rather be out here in the field than at home – the place that was supposed to make her feel safe. “Sorry I’m late! I had to double check my work!” Naruto’s voice at once startled her but made her feel safer. “Sakura is checking if part two of our little theory is correct right now.”

“I hope so,” she whispered with a sigh, “my arms can’t take much more of this.” She rubbed at over-used biceps and shoulder muscles. Her arms felt like rubber bands that had been overstretched before being thrown into a freezer.

“Let me help you with that,” Naruto said as he rubbed his hands rapidly. He gestured toward her arms, “May I?”

She offered her right arm, and he began kneading the muscles like bread dough, “Ahh--ahh!” she moaned from discomfort. There was something else. His warm hands caused electricity to pulsate down her spine, and goosebumps erupted along her forearms. The rush of excitement was the same as performing an exceptionally difficult gymnastic maneuver or one of the times she’d managed to best Neji in a sparing match. 

“Sorry,” he blushed, “I know it can feel a bit unpleasant, but it will feel better when I’m done.” He continued to work, stretching her arms and working her shoulders like he was trying to reform them out of clay. Hinata felt dizzy, about ready to faint, but the strange mix of pain and pleasure kept her wide awake. She felt safe with his hands on her.

It was the best feeling she had felt all week, especially since graduation day. Apparently, the clan elders were convinced Hinata was ill-suited to carry on as clan heir. On the day of her graduation from the academy, Father had been meeting with the elders to discuss whether or not Hanabi should replace her. Hinata did not know what had been more heartbreaking – the fact that Father had missed her big day or that she could tell he was getting tired of defending her. Right now, she envied Naruto. His parents loved him without condition; on the other hand, she had to question how far her father’s love extended. The answer lately seemed to depressingly indicate it would not last much longer. 

“Hinata, are you all right?” Naruto sounded concerned.

“Yes,” she lied, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You kind of spaced out, is everything all right?” he tilted his head in query.

“It…” she weighed how much she wanted to burden him with this. _He’s your best friend in the world; why would he consider you a burden?_ She resumed, “… it isn’t.” She felt a strange surge of relief as she let the truth come out.

He sat next to her on the fallen tree, “Anything you need to talk about?” He now had his right arm around her shoulder. Her breathing quickened at the contact. His eyes pierced her, as if he was searching her face for the answer written on it. 

“Naruto-kun,” she reverted to the honorific way of saying his name, and she fidgeted with her fingers, “things have been getting rough at home lately.”

“How so?”

“You know how I’m the heir to the Hyūga clan, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Part of the clan,” she paused nervously, “most of it, in fact, thinks I’m not suited to be clan heir…. Th-they want to replace me with Hanabi!” A few tears leaked from Hinata’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was the thought of losing her title, the underhanded ostracism, or the embarrassment of having confessed it to Naruto.

“They can’t do that!” Naruto raised his voice indignantly, “You were born the heir, just like your dad!” He clenched his left hand in a fist, and his right arm tightened around her shoulders. “That’s unfair!”

“I could not care less if they wanted to replace me,” Hinata cried, “but how they are doing it: going behind my back with these meetings, ostracizing and excluding me from family training and rituals, and turning my own little sister against me!” Hinata couldn’t keep herself from sobbing. She had been so close to her little sister, practically raised her through Mom’s cancer treatment; but now, Hanabi was almost unrecognizable. Hinata buried her face in Naruto’s chest. His arms encircled her, providing the comfort she had usually sought from her father. Lately, father had offered his support less and less. 

“Hinata,” he whispered, “It’ll be okay! You’ll see!” She pulled back from him; his arms had not let her go. Naruto smiled with his pretty blue eyes. He smiled his smiled that could make her believe everything would be okay even when things were going bad. On this dreary October day, it was the brightest thing she had seen all day.

“Okay you two, impress me!” Sakura’s shrill voice pierced the tender moment. 

“He hadn’t moved from the clearing,” Hianta confirmed. During the whole conversation with Naruto, Hinata had kept her Byakugan active, keeping Kakashi in sight. 

Naruto nodded as he checked his watch, “I had hoped that would be the case.” He removed his arm from her shoulders, and he smiled at Hinata again, like they shared a secret. 

Sakura started at the two of them intently, her green eyes wide. “Just what have you two been doing while I was distracting Kakashi?” she sounded suspicious. 

“Just talking, family stuff,” Naruto replied, clearly missing the insinuation Sakura has been giving them.

Internally, Hinata panicked. _She knows!_ Hinata’s heart raced in her chest. While she has always liked Naruto and admired him, the past few months things were feeling different than ever before. Hinata had been looking at him differently when she followed him to the training ground first thing in the morning. When his arm was around her just now, she felt the urge to bring herself closer. _Don’t forget his lips!_ She thought about how entrancing they looked as he reassured her that things would be okay. She was feeling the strangest urge to get closer to him and bring her lips to his. Hinata struggled internally as to whether Sakura’s arrival was a welcome or unwelcome distraction from the urge.

“ _Right,_ ” Sakura’s words were pointed as she stared with green eyes. Hinata could sense envy, but it wasn’t because Sakura coveted Naruto for herself. If Hinata had to guess, it had something to do with Sasuke. “So, what now?” Sakura asked.

“It’s too late in the day for us to make this come together, especially with Kakashi in earshot,” Naruto cautioned as he looked around. “Is he still in the clearing?”

“Yes,” Hinata confirmed.

“Good,” Naruto nodded. Let’s meet up after we wrap for the day, save your strength, though. Naruto rose from the log, and the trio separated. Hinata quietly wondered what Naruto had planned. 

* * *

“That’s your strategy!” Sakura’s words bit at Naruto’s ears like acid. 

“Yeah, why what’s wrong with it?” he asked as he fished out another noodle from the steaming bowl of ramen. After ten hours of non-step bell test with no food, Ichiraku’s was the closest thing to heaven right now that he could think of. Judging by the look of Hinata’s near-empty bowl, she wholeheartedly agreed. Further down the row of seats, Shina and Kiba watched, but did not comment.

“What’s wrong with it,” Sakura huffed, “how about what isn’t wrong with it! You want us to get penalized to distracted Kakashi so you can snatch the bells for yourself!”

“Actually, I’d also be distracting him,” Naruto corrected, “so that we can pin him in place, paralyze him, and get the damn bells!” While Naruto liked Sakura, she was starting to really get on his nerves. For as nervous and fidgety as Hinata could be, she never once questioned his judgement. _“If we’re all thinking alike, Naruto, we’re not thinking!”_ Iruka’s words chided Naruto. “So, what’s your biggest objection?” he asked.

“Listen,” Sakura’s tone changed to something much softer, as did her facial expression, “You two probably don’t mind getting sent back to the academy, but I do!”

“Sakura –” Hinata began

“Hear me out!” Sakura cut both Hinata and him off from speaking, “You both come from prominent clans; I don’t!” Sakura began sniffling, “If I wash out, then I’m done for! I come from a family of commoners!” Sakura’s tears began running wilder, “I’ve always dreamed of being a ninja, and I busted my butt to get this far; hell, my parents sacrificed so much so I could get here! If I get sent back, there is no way my family could afford even another semester at the academy!”

“So that’s why you didn’t get back in the water during the water survival final,” Naruto thought back to their last hellish test together. “You were scared of failing if you jumped back in and had to be rescued.”

“Sakura,” Hinata said nervously, “it’s okay to be scared, but what other choice do we have right now?”

“I just wish…” Sakura sighed

“You just wish you were with Sasuke,” Naruto felt annoyance rising. “Just because he made genin on day one doesn’t mean anything!”

“If I’d been paired with him…” Sakura began.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference!” Hinata clipped back, cutting off Naruto’s response. “He’d be stuck here with you and Naruto, and you’d still be doing this stupid bell test, Sakura!”

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked, confused by Hinata’s statement as well as her sudden anger.

Hinata stared at both of them, considering for a moment. As Naruto stared, he wasn’t entirely sure if it was Hinata staring back. “Sasuke was supposed to be on Team Seven with you two,” she said. “We were switched at the last minute, Sakura! So, I want you to stop kidding yourself about how things would be different! You would still be here, and I’d probably be a genin right now!”

Naruto felt his jaw drop at the revelation as much as Hinata’s outburst. While it would have been interesting to have Sasuke on this team, Naruto was glad he wasn’t. Sakura would be hanging on Sasuke’s every word, and they’d probably be still having this fight. “Ladies,” Naruto raised his hands, hoping to placate the two, “Can we agree that this is our best, last shot, or does anyone have an alternative suggestion?”

Sakura’s green eyes shimmered with tears, and Hinata’s pale purple eyes did as well. “No, I don’t have any alternative,” Sakura said. “Neither do I,” Hinata followed up.

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, “We know he wants us to work together, and we now know his weakness,” Naruto explained, “What’s really got you on edge, Sakura?”

She eyed him thoughtfully, “There are only two bells, Naruto,” she said grimly. “Even if I go along with this truly bizarre plan, and it works, what guarantee do I have that I won’t still wash out?

“The plan is strategically sound, Sakura,” Shino’s flat voice broke from behind Naruto. “Although I’d advise making sure whatever distraction you add in, Naruto, is a powerful one.”

“Sadly, even I have to agree,” a gruff, masculine voice came from behind Naruto. A set of fingers raked noogies into Naruto’s hair, “and that’s saying something from me!”

“Sasuke!” Sakura blushed as he approached. Naruto turned to see the slightly older boy, dressed in black and blue, looking self-assured as ever. “Hi Sasuke,” Naruto said, annoyed at the attention he garnered from the room.

“Why the long face?” Sasuke gently mocked, “You got my seal of approval on your plan; I was starting to worry you’d miss the point of being a leader!”

“Knock it off, Sasuke,” Naruto growled. 

“Although, it seems you’re still missing the point of the test,” Sasuke said arrogantly, “unless you can resolve how to get three people to cooperate for only two bells.” Sasuke winked as he walked down to the end of the counter.

As hateful as it sounded, Sasuke was right. Sakura wouldn’t go along without some guarantee that she’d get a bell, but it was not fair to Hinata or himself to simply hand over one of the bells and have to decide between the two of themselves. Naruto bit his lip and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“Naruto,” a kind, fatherly voice called opposite the counter. It was Teuchi – the owner of Ichiraku. “If you’re having trouble deciding who comes up short, might I suggest drawing straws?” The owner held out his hand, three different lengths of drink straw protruding from his closed hand. 

Naruto turned to Sakura and then to Hinata. “Can we agree whomever draws the short straw, no matter who that might be, will be the one going back to the Academy?” he swallowed a lump in his throat. “No chance at favorites, just pure luck?” Naruto lied. He had no intention of letting either friend go back in his place. Sakura would be a lost cause if she got sent back, and Hinata didn’t deserve it. He tried to swallow the butterflies circling his stomach. He placed his hand on the counter.

“Agreed,” Hinata put her hand on top of his, gently squeezing his hand. 

“Agreed,” Sakura put her hand on top. 

“Well, choose wisely, and good luck!” Teuchi smiled. 

“You’re first, fearless leader,” Sakura gestured to the straws. Naruto felt his heart in his throat and his feet in ice water. He drew the center straw with his free hand. 

Sakura wavered next between the other two straw. She picked the one closest to her – it was the same length as his. _Dammit!_

Hianta’s fingers trembled as she drew out the last straw – the short one. Her head sank, and Naruto could tell Hinata was fighting back tears. Naruto didn’t know why, but he squeezed her gently. “Hinata, I’ll go instead,” he said, choking on his words.

“No,” she said, wiping away tears, “I drew a short straw, and I agreed I’d honor the outcome.” She nodded. “You’ve more than earned it.”

“Well, if we’re done here,” Sakura said.

“I know, we should call it a night,” Naruto said.

“Actually, you two go on ahead,” Sakura corrected, “I’m going to stay here a while.” Sakura tilted her head toward Sasuke. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Naruto got up to leave; Hinata followed not far behind. “N-Naruto-kun?” she sounded perplexed, “Your house isn’t this way.”

“I have a slight detour,” he explained, “I need a friend’s help for tomorrow.” Naruto hoped she’d let the subject drop.

“Can-can I come with?” She asked. Her voice sounded a somewhere between pleading and hoping.

“Ummm…”

“You see,” her cheeks turned pink, and she fidgeted with her fingers, “I kind of don’t want to go straight home. If… if I wait a bit, maybe father will be busy, or turn in early…”

“You can come along,” Naruto said nervously, “but just promise you won’t judge me for what we’re about to do.” He held out his pinkie finger. 

“Promise,” she hooked her pinkie around his. Naruto wasted no time – he took her hand and dragged her along. “Where are we going?” she asked as he pulled her along.

“It’s a secret,” he teased, “everything about this is secret, S-ranked per the Hokage’s orders!”

“Your dad knows?”

“I’m making a minor assumption about my future,” he winked. “Just don’t tell the guy we’re going to see.” They reached the outside of the Sarutobi house. The house was surrounded by a stone wall, maybe seven foot in height. While a far cry from the fortress that was the Hyūga compound or sprawling Hokage’s Mansion, the house was respectfully sized and did not invite intruders. 

Solid wrought-iron gates reminded Naruto that this was not simply the house of any family. Naruto reached the intercom next to the gate and called in, “Hello.”

“Who is it?” a female voice asked.

Naruto grinned, “It’s Naruto Uzimaki, is Konohamaru in?”

Whatever response was expected was cut off as a young toe-headed kid burst from the front door and sprinted across the lawn. “Konohamaru!” the boy’s mother yelled after him.

“I knew it!” the boy yelled excitedly, taking a fighting stance, “You’ve finally come to challenge me to be the next Hokage!”

From the corner of Naruto’s hearing, he heard Hinata giggle, “Who is your cute little friend, Naruto?”

“That’s Konohamaru Sarutobi,” he replied.

“Oh, Lord Third’s grandson!” she beamed in realization.

“Gosh darn it, Naruto,” the boy huffed, “How many times do I have to tell you, I hate being called grandson!” The boy went rapidly from indignant to confused. Konohamaru leaned in and placed a hand to shield his mouth, as if it would keep his words from reaching Hinata, “Who’s your girlfriend there, boss?”

Naruto blushed, “Oh, this,” he let go of Hinata’s hand, “is Hinata Hyūga – heir of the Hyūga Clan.”

Konohamaru’s jaw dropped, “Well,” he exclaimed, “slap my butt and call me Sarutobi! Boss, she’s way out of your league – way better than that ogre with the pink hair I saw you with!”

Naruto felt himself blush at the reference to Hinata being his girlfriend. He could also hear Hinata giggle nervously, “She’s just a friend, just like Sakura!” he laughed, also sounding nervous.

“Uh huh,” Konohamaru eyed them both suspiciously, “right… By the way, I thought were a guys only club.”

“Naruto,” Mrs. Sarutobi’s voice said gently. Despite her soft features and her kind eyes, Naruto knew not to underestimate her. Both of Konohamaru’s parents were ANBU. The kind-hearted before him reportedly had five kills to her name, if Uncle Kakashi were to be believed.

Naruto replied deferentially, “May we please talk with Konohamaru for a few minutes.” He accented his words with a slight bow; Hinata followed suit.

“Very well, but only a few minutes,” she said turning to her son, “You, mister, still have homework to finish!”

Konohamaru bowed to his mom, “Yes, Mother,” as he opened the gate. The inside of the house was warm and plush. However, Konohamaru’s room on the second floor was a chaotic mess of posters, graphic novels, and magazines strewn about. “So,” he said as they entered, “You must want something very badly to come out her this late.” Konohamru rubbed his hands together, “so what is it? Do you finally admit I’ll be the next Hokage?”

“Hardly,” Naruto grinned. “I need Haru and Natsu.”

Konohamaru’s eyes shot wide open in shock at the request, “You brought HER FOR THAT!!!” he yelled.

Naruto frantically gestured for Konohamaru to keep his voice down, “Hinata has some things going on at home, and didn’t want to be there yet,” he explained, “I meant to come alone.”

Konohamaru looked at him crossly, “I don’t believe you,” he said scrutinizing them.

“Umm… who are Haru and Natsu?” Hinata asked innocently.

Again, Konohamaru shot him a wide-eyed look, “You didn’t tell her?!” Naruto shook his head in response. Konohamaru crossed his arms, “Look, even if I had,” he paused to grin mischievously, “that wonderous little bit of contraband,” he smiled in admission that he still had it. “What makes you think I’ll share it with you?”

“I need material for my genin exam tomorrow, and I don’t have the ability to get my own,” Naruto said nervously, hoping Hinata didn’t realize that they were talking about Konohamaru’s private stash of girly magazine. 

“You’re going up against Kakashi,” Konohamaru said nervously, “Oh hell no!”

“Think of the bragging rights you’ll get, knowing I needed your help to pass the test!” Naruto said.

Konohamaru tilted his head, “Not bad.”

Naruto sweetened the pot, “And think of the wonderous ways you’ll be able to one-up me if this works! You have what, five more years to refine it before you graduate!”

Gears turned in Konohamaru’s head, “All right you got a deal!” he said reaching for his mattress, “But one condition – you have to explain to your girlfriend what we’re talking about!” Konohamaru smiled through shark’s teeth.

“Dude!” Naruto turned bright red with embarrassment. Hinata would never talk to him again.

“All right fine,” Konohmaru sulked, “but if this flops, you didn’t get this from me.” He pulled out the provocative magazine from under his mattress. “You don’t know me, and you have no idea where you saw this.”

Naruto took the magazine and shook hands with Konohamaru, “Deal.”

“Just one more thing,” Konohamaru looked at Naruto slyly, “Does your girlfriend have a sister by chance? I’m a sucker for girls with Byakugan!”

* * *

Beads of sweat traced down Naruto’s back and armpits despite the cool morning air. His heart was in his throat and his bladder had shrank to the size of a peanut – this was it. If they screwed up now, all three of them would be sent back to the Academy. The future of his team was resting on his shoulders. _You’ll do fine, but don’t screw up!_

Sakura had just finished her first, and hopefully, last penalty of the day. She ran with the pitcher to Kakashi, owing ten push ups for being one minute over time. Naruto stalked closer to the edge of the clearing as he moved tree branch to tree branch. Kakashi was in sight, and Naruto had the sickly feeling he knew Naruto was here. _All he has to do is use a shadow clone, and this is for nothing!_

Hinata sprung from the edge of the clearing in her own half-hearted attempt to get at the bells. After a short flurry of strikes, Kakashi slapped her with a penalty tag. “Chapter thirteen, Hinata,” Kakashi called. 

As expected, Kakashi didn’t leave the clearing or even move from his spot as Sakura finished her penalty and walked to the edge of the clearing. In theory, she could have struck at him immediately, but Kakashi had already the past two attempts thwarted intention penalties used as attempts to pin him in place.

“ _Lady Imagawa slid off her robe, exposing her pearl white skin and her soft body to Lord Yamamoto!”_ Hinata recited confidently. _She’s in an awfully good mood this morning!_ Either she was starting to enjoy reading this crap, or she had reasonable faith in his plan after seeing what he would be distraction Kakashi with. _Speaking of the devil…_

Kakashi’s eyes grew wide as Hinata carefully emphasized various euphamisms, trying her best to make them sound sensuous versus ridiculous. Even Naruto started feeling a bit bothered by listening to her. _Okay, head out of the gutter for the moment! It’s almost show time!_

“ _He heaved with his long staff of power!”_ Hinata special emphasis hinted that she was at the end of the passage.

Naruto leapt into action as she began to close the book. “Multiple shadow clone technique!” Naruto shouted, capturing Kakashi’s attention. Several dozen shadow clones descended toward Kakashi as Naruto frantically ran through hand gestures, “Transformation: SEXY HAREM JUTSU!!!” Naruto and his shadow clones turned into a wide array of beautiful young women wearing nothing but the occasional puff of smoke. For double jeopardy, several said things like, “Oh daddy!” and “Uncle Kakashi!” as they approached. 

Naruto saw blood pooling through Kakashi’s mask, roughly around the nose, as his target stood transfixed. “KYAAHHH!!!” Hinata screamed as she bolted toward Kakashi, hitting him square in the gut with a gentle fist attack. The strike’s effect was both glorious and instantaneous. Kakashi was thrown backwards into a nearby tree. All color drained from the man’s face, and he didn’t so much as twitch when Sakura snatched the bells from the man’s vest.

“Naruto, catch!” Sakura shouted as she hurled one of the bells toward him.

The bell caught solidly in his hand and jingled as Kakashi floppped face first into the dirt. The feeling of knowing they’d triumphed caused goosebumps to coat his skin. This time, there was no doubt they’d won. “Kakashi, are you all right?” Naruto hollered, “No hard feelings,” he laughed, “any feeling at all?” he asked nervously.

Kakashi’s only response was to heave several deep breaths and extend the middle finger of his left hand as he started to move. “Hinata,” Naruto said, turning to her, “that was amazing! Can you teach me to do gentle fist?”

“Sorry Naruto,” she blushed, “You have to be a Byakugan user to use it.”

“Well,” he wrapped her in a tight hug, “I’ll miss you at the Academy, Hinata! Thank you!” The distraction of his hug worked; she hadn’t noticed him clipping the bell to her jacket. 

As Naruto unwrapped himself from Hinata, he turned to face Kakashi, now barely to his knees. “You all…” he heaved, “…are assholes for doing that!” he heaved through pain. Kakashi took several angry-sounding deep breaths. His anger voice subsided to a softer tone, “But I admit, I wouldn’t have expected that! Congratulations, genin!” Kakashi sighed.

“K-Kakashi,” Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, “h-how far back into the academy will I be going?”

Kakashi looked perplexed as he got to his feet, “What do you mean, Hinata?” He pointed to the left collar of her jacket, “You’re wearing one of the bells.”

Hinata frantically looked down at the offending decoration, her eyes wide in shock. She turned and looked first at Sakura, clutching a bell in her hand, and then to Naruto. “N-Naruto-kun!!!” she whined.

Naruto winked at her and turned to Kakashi, “I think she meant, how far will _I_ go back at the Academy?” Naruto grinned. _It was fun while it lasted if I’m wrong._

“Kakashi!” Hinata protested, “he was supposed to get the bell! I’m supposed to be going back!!!”

“You’d sacrifice your future for your friends?” Kakashi said, regaining his air. “That sounds like something a Hokage would do, at least, a future Hokage,” Kakashi winked at Naruto. “Of course,” Kakashi pulled out three decorative scrolls, “A Hokage must at least be a genin.”

“You mean,” Sakura asked excitedly, “all three of us graduate?”

Kakashi bowed, “You learned to work as a team, and you learned to go out on a limb for each other.” He tilted his head as he looked toward Sakura. “Did you really think this was a test to see who could get their hands on some stinking bells?”

“You hear that!!!” Naruto cheered. “We’re genin!!!”

Sakura, Hinata, and he ran together in a group hug. After all the challenges of graduating the academy, this was a moment to savor. He knew adventures would come and go, but he’d always remember this moment and the team he shared it with.

Kakashi concentrated his chakra through his hands, sending a column of lightning vertically to the clouds. “What was that for?” Naruto asked.

“You’ll see,” Kakashi teased.

Another bright flash, and Dad appeared next to Kakashi. “DAD!!!” Naruto ran up and hugged his father.

“Congratulations, son,” Dad said as he lifted him in a bear hug. “I didn’t doubt you for a minute!”

“Lord Fourth!” Sakura ran up to join the hug.

“Uncle Minato!” Hinata joined. 

“You guys ready for your first team photo?” Minato asked, pulling a camera from his jacket.

“Yes!!!” the three of them yelled in unison. 

Dad gathered them in front of a tree stump in the clearing, centered the camera on a nearby log, and set the timer. “All right, big smiles everyone!” Dad shouted as he sprinted to stand beside Kakashi. Naruto sat in the center of the tree trunk, Hinata on his left arm, and Sakura on his right. The flashbulb flashed, exposing the photograph. “All right!” Dad cheered, “you all must be hungry! Let’s head home and grab a real breakfast!”


	17. Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

“She’s unfit to be the heir to this clan, Lord Hiashi! You can argue all you want, but it doesn’t change that she is weak and little better than an outsider to this clan!” Hinata listened to the elders of the Hyūga clan from a shadowy corner of the council chamber. Each statement was a knife twisting in her chest, especially the ones from her grandfather. She had the suspicion Grandfather and the others wouldn’t have been any less scathing in their indictments of her character or capabilities if they had noticed her listening in. She could hide well -- the one advantage to still being small and unassuming.

“I will say only this: Hinata is the rightful heir of this family,” Father replied, his voice sounding weary. “If we take away her standing as clan heir, we run the risk of letting our strongest asset slip away for what may or may not be a flash of brilliance on Hanabi’s part! We risk undermining the sanctity of our family line on a whim!”

_I’m not even a genin for two days, and already they’re back at it!_ Hinata cried in frustration; she had really hoped hitting that milestone would have mollified the elders to a degree. At least this time, father was putting in some effort to back her up. He had looked genuinely happy when she and the others came home early from the training ground. Amazingly, he almost seemed impressed with her contributions to the team.

Hinata sighed quietly; none of the men here truly knew her. If father was distant, then Grandpa was on a different planet. More importantly, none of the elders were women – there had never before been a female heir to the clan. _Would they be saying this so freely if I was a son?_ While Konoha was certainly more progressive than many villages, misogyny was still a prevalent force, especially in the older clans such as the Uchiha and Hyūga clans. 

“Even if you hadn’t foisted her off on that Uzumaki woman for training,” another elder spoke, “She has repeatedly proven incapable of defeating Hanabi! More importantly, you have all but abandoned training her in our ways! The blood of this clan has already grown thin in the past generations!” The elder pointed sharply, “And you would let her weaken it even thinner!” ‘

“Just what in the hell are you implying!” Father asked. Hinata, herself, was curious.

“We know about her and the Naruto boy!” The elder replied, “Tell us, when were you planning on letting us know you planned on arranging a marriage between the two!” _He what?!?_ Hinata’s heart raced at the unexpected statement. _Father planning to marry me to Naruto!_

“She’s only eleven!” Father replied indignantly, “Any such arrangement would be highly inappropriate!”

“Then you will end her association with him, and his family!” Grandfather boomed. _NO!!!_ Hinata shook at the thought of the one good thing, the one thing that made her whole being taken from her by these men. She’d as soon die as let them have it!

“Grandfather, this is unwise!” Neji’s high, youthful voice split the air.

“Neji, you speak out of turn!” Uncle Hizashi scolded.

“Yes, I speak out of turn because this council needs to hear what I have to say!” Neji shouted. “You treat our heir with disdain because she has trained with outsiders, but have any of you remotely considered that makes her more dangerous, not less!”

Scathing laughter greeted Neji’s statement. The walls of the room were seething with negativity, and Hinata could take no more. She flitted from the shadows toward the door. “Father, you asked me to monitor her progress; her training has not just been with Kushina Uzumaki! She has trained with her son and her husband, Lord Fourth, himself! If you put Hinata in a match she is determined to win, she will wipe the floor with Hanabi!” The room again erupted in laughter, especially led by Grandfather and Uncle Hizashi. 

She made it to the door and silently slipped out. Her eyes adjusted from the shadow to the bright midday sun. While Hinata appreciated Neji’s faith in her, she had no doubt it was misplaced. She had bested him this morning in a surprise training match, despite the fact that he was older and more experienced than she. 

“Going somewhere, elder sister?” Hanabi’s condescending voice greeted Hinata as she began walking away from the room. Hanabi’s words froze Hinata place like a paralysis seal. _Don’t turn around, don’t do it!_ “Face me, big sister!”

Hinata did as commanded. Hanabi was several inches shorter than she was, but something in the other girl’s presence was malevolent as a wicked oni demon. The disdain carved into her younger sister’s face didn’t match the kindly girl that used to play with her night after night, no matter how tired they were from training. Hinata struggled to remember when that transformation had happened. “H-Hanabi?” Hinata squeaked.

“Spying on the council, elder sister?” Hanabi’s words cut like acid etching into metal.

“N-nothing like that at all…” Hinata choked on her words. Cold sweat crawled down Hinata’s spine. She hated confrontation like this; it made her throat tighten to face off with anyone. The stress made dark things stir inside her – things she was struggling to control

“I’ve got news for you, elder sister,” Hanabi closed the distance between them and jabbed a finger into Hinata’s stomach, “you’re going to be disinherited from this clan because you’re nothing but a pathetic weakling!” Hanabi again jabbed Hinata in the stomach. 

Hinata could feel the room spinning. Kyuubi was stirring, and she didn’t have a positive focus to resist him this time. “Hanabi, please stop,” she cried. She didn’t want to hurt her sister or anyone else.

“What’s a matter, elder sister! You going to go crying to Naruto’s mommy! We already know ours is sick of your whiny bullshit!” Hanabi jabbed her in the stomach again.

Hinata felt a switch flip inside her, and all was dead calm. She didn’t want to hurt her, but Hanabi was about to learn why it was unwise to poke a coiled rattlesnake. One moment she was crying at Hanabi’s hurtful words, the next, her fingers were wrapped around her sister’s throat. There was the impact of the wall to the council chamber crumbling as Hinata charged through it, using Hanabi as a ram. Dark purple chakra ignited around Hinata as she lifted her sister up by the neck and slammed her into a wooden support beam of the room. “Listen to me you little shit!” Hinata screeched like a vengeful yōkai, “the fact that I don’t enjoy violence is the _ONLY REASON_ I haven’t snuffed you out, you ungrateful bitch!!!”

She could see the shock in Hanabi’s expression; all the members of council wore the same surprise. Resentment filled Hinata like venom at the thought of their surprise. _Is it really that surprising, gentlemen? I haven’t done this up to now because I was a better person than this. Get a good look at what happens when kindness gives out!_ She could do it. Hinata squeezed her sister’s throat. She could kill her right here in front of these men and show them how badly they’d underestimated her. She could end this entire array of chauvinistic crap, and the elders would fear her and not the other way around. _Do it, claim your rightful destiny!_

“Hinata, please stop,” a soft voice pleaded. Her grip slackened ever so slightly on Hanabi’s throat. “Hinata, please,” Father pleaded, placing one of his hands gently on her right shoulder. Hanabi’s face was chiseled with terror. “Please,” Father whispered. 

“Daddy,” a lone tear traced cold along Hinata’s cheek. Another one followed, and another one, until the floodgates opened fully. The resentment, the fire burning in her drained off rapidly. “Daddy!” her grip on Hanabi failed, and her sister plopped to the ground, heaving deep, wheezing breaths. 

Hinata felt Father wrap her in a tighter embrace just as her knees gave out. “Daddy!” she sobbed into his chest. Kurama had almost taken hold of her completely. For all of Hanabi’s flaws, Hinata still loved her deeply as a sister. For all of father’s flaws, she still loved him deeply. Nevertheless, she doubted her ability to keep this up any longer. She didn’t deserve to be this family’s heir if she couldn’t control herself. Father was still holding her as she lost consciousness. 

* * *

Hiashi Hyūga ran his fingers through greying hair as he stared out the window to the Namikaze-Uzumaki family’s backyard. Naruto’s twelfth birthday party bore more resemblance to a small carnival as Kakashi organized a series of competitive games among the three teams in the backyard – teams seven, eight, and ten. The yard resonated with cheers and laughter that had gone silent years ago in the Hyūga compound. 

Minato came from a family of no standing, almost commoners, and Kushina came from a clan that was borderline extinct. Despite that, Hiashi envied them. Their family was one made of love. Hiashi stared longingly out the window as Hinata cheered Naruto for throwing a shuriken into a bullseye. Hiashi turned back to the adults in the living room: Minato, Jiraiya, Kushina, Lord Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Akemi. Hiashi envied Minato’s ability to bring such a disparate group together in his home. If he were to even try this in the Hyūga clan, it would be seen as a sign of weakness. _So much energy wasted on appearances. So much effort wasted on petty rivalries. So much arrogant belief in our self-worth!_

“How is she, Tsunade?” Hiashi asked.

“Physically, she is fine. She was exhausted by the effects of resisting Kyuubi, but I detect no long-term issues.” Tsunade fidgeted nervously, “However, I’m starting to think it would be beneficial if she saw someone from the counselling department.”

Hiashi sighed, shaking his head, “You know what kind of scrutiny she’s already under, Tsunade,” he turned to look at his little girl outside in the yard, “If the elders caught wind of it, they might force another confrontation.” He turned back to Tsunade, “With everything that has happened, I doubt that would be healthy, either.”

Very rarely would Hiashi admit to feeling helpless, but this was one of those rare occasions. Hiahsi’s father had been hard man to him and his twin brother, Hizashi, growing up. Father’s heart had always been in the right place, if his approach was vastly flawed – a relic of a different time. _“The Hyūga clan takes care of its own!”_ Father’s words boomed in his head. The elders and father had worried about the clan’s future and had disapproved of his marriage to Akemi as a result. Even after Hiashi had challenged Father and beat him for clan leadership, Father simply looked for new ways to make his opinion known. In Father’s mind, his treatment of Hinata and Neji was for the best of the clan. Even more disturbing was his brother’s jealousy. In Hizashi’s mind, Neji, his prodigal son was a disappointment, and influencing Hanabi to undermine Hinata was the next best revenge for being born into a supporting branch of the family. 

_How does a family turn against itself so thoroughly? I’m losing both of my little girls more and more each day._ Hiashi pondered silently. He had no illusions that he was a great father, not even a good one. Kushina, Minato, and their boy had provided love where his daughter needed it. Akemi had provided at least understanding, frequently at her expense as the clan grew more resentful. _If only Hinata were more assertive._ A pang of guilt hit him in the guts. Akemi frequently reminded Hiashi that raising a little girl was extremely different from raising a son. More importantly, the girl’s thoughtfulness if shaped properly could be an asset

“Perhaps, there is an alternative to doing therapy,” Lord Sarutobi spoke in a semi-raspy voice. The aged Third Hokage spoke with dignity and strength despite years of pipe smoking and having been retired for over a decade. 

“Please,” Minato said, “I’m open to any suggestion.”

“A problem in sight is frequently complained about when compared to a problem out of sight,” Lord Third said.

“Lord Third,” Akemi spoke with worry, “you can’t be talking about sending her away!”

“Far from it,” he shook his head, “I believe she’s ready for her first mission. It would give the elders time to cool off, and it would give her a much-needed chance to build up some experience, and her confidence, in the field.”

“She’s only been a genin for three days,” Hiashi said doubtfully.

“A ninja rarely goes in the field alone, especially as a genin,” the Lord Hokage’s eye twinkled.

“You’d send the whole team,” Kushina said, “but what kind of mission?”

“I have a special request,” Lord Sarutobi became somber, “Every year, I make pilgrimage to my wife’s memorial. The site is becoming overgrown and the memorial is in desperate need of basic cleaning.”

A dark shadow fell over everyone in the room. Lord Third’s wife had died twelve years ago today – the day Naruto was born. “Lord Sarutobi,” Hiashi said softly, “it would be an honor, and I’m sure Hinata and her team would agree to go to the memorial and perform whatever necessary maintenance is required.”

“If they do go,” Minato’s voice sounded tense, “I insist we send more than one team.” Everyone turned to the current Hokage. “Obito is still out there somewhere, and this will be the furthest any of them has been from the village. I insist that team eight and ten go along.”

“That’s nine genin, and four jonin,” Jiraiya said, “Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“Four jonin?” Tsunade quipped. 

“I’m going, too,” he said.

“Since when did you become Mr. Responsible?” Tsunade folded her fingers in front of her. 

Jiraiya turned to Lord Sarutobi, “I would also like to pay my respects to your late wife, she was…” Jiraiya choked, “…like a mother to us all.”

The room held still for a minute in deafening silence, except for the sound of the party outside. _To be young and to have not a care in the world!_ “Lord Minato, you called us indoors for something other than this, I assume?” Hiahsi asked.

“Yes,” he nodded somberly, “We have… a very difficult thing to ask.” Minato scanned the room nervously, “We, Jiraiya, Kushina, and I, have uncovered something that may be of assistance with Hinata’s plight.”

“Please, anything,” Hiashi said desperately.

“When you all separated Kyuubi, she absorbed the part of his yang chakra, the part containing some of its negative yin chakra,” Jiraiya explained.

“And?” Akemi asked.

“And we think if we reunite the rest of the yang chakra, the remaining positive part, she’ll have better control over Nine-Tails,” Kushina finished.

_That’s their plan!_ “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Akemi said indignantly. Despite his negative reaction initially, Hiashi let the thought roll in his head as the others erupted into a bickering argument.

“You can’t be serious! We have no idea if you can even survive the process! Don’t even get me started about Hinata!” Tsunade erupted.

“The seals on both of them are failing rapidly!” Jiraiya argued back, “Do we really want to wait until another disaster is upon us to act!”

“I’ll allow it!” Hiashi boomed over the bickering. 

“My love,” Akemi pleaded, “She’s only a little girl!”

“She’s a genin, and it would be her choice, and I know she’ll agree to it because it means saving at least two lives – hers and Kushina’s.”

Minato glanced at him sideways, “Hiashi, old friend, you’re taking this awful well for a man who was never comfortable with a jinchuriki for a daughter.”

“The elders will find out sooner or later,” he sighed in resignation, “When they find out she is a jinchuriki, and I suspect they are already suspicious, that will cause a confrontation we won’t be able to avoid. I’d much rather have her in control and in a position of strength when that happens.”

“But dear, she’ll never be rid of it if she accepts that much of it!” Akemi pleaded.

“Akemi,” he paused, staring into her polished obsidian eyes. Even after a difficult marriage and a battle with cancer, her eyes were still alluring as the day he invited her into a barren courtyard at the Hyūga compound and begged her to stay to make her garden there, “Hinata made that choice for us when she absorbed Kurama’s chakra. We can’t keep pretending that it isn’t part of her, now!” Hiashi paused, looking out the window to his Byakugan princess. “Besides, she has a very tough journey ahead.”

“Hiashi,” Minato said, “far be it from me to criticize your family’s structure, but if Hinata is so unsuited to be heir or leader, why not just quietly let her abdicate? It would remove a major point of stress for her and the elders.”

Hiashi shook his head, “A few reasons. First, the selfish: she’s the born heir to the clan, and if we start picking and choosing it diminishes the legitimacy of the clan’s hierarchy. I want to do what is best for the clan.”

“And?” Minato asked.

“Secondly, she’s my daughter. And while kindness and shyness are not typical markers of strength,” Hiashi began to choke on tears, “she was my pillar of strength when Akemi was ill. Hinata took care of her sister when neither of us could, and she kept me hoping in our darkest hour.” Hiashi let several tears fall; Akemi came to his side, putting her arms around him. “And finally, another selfish reason: she is the future of the clan, and it ends if she’s not the clan leader.”

Hiashi saw several confused reactions. Of the group, only Lord Third nodded an understanding. “I don’t follow,” Kushina said.

“Kushina, when was last time a child was born in the Hyūga clan?”

“Hanabi, almost seven years ago,” she replied.

“Seven years, and no children,” Hiashi explained. “Does anyone else find that odd that a clan so large could go so long without any live births?”

“There is some type of fertility problem in the family?” Minato tilted his head in confusion.

“The clan elders would like to believe our blood has run thin as a result of my marrying an outsider,” Hiashi sighed, “The reality is much bleaker. Our bloodline has become too concentrated. Several supporting branches of the family have interbred so much that they face extinction within a generation. The few young members of our family coming of age are facing heavy pressure to marry within the family bloodline.”

“If that happens, we can expect an increase in genetic defects and a serious decreased in the family’s ability to have live births,” Tsunade explained, “it’s called the Founder Effect.”

Hiashi nodded, “It might already be too late, but if the elders have their way, whomever is heir would face an arranged marriage, most likely to Neji or one of the cousins.”

“Hinata would never accept such an arrangement,” Kushina said.

“Exactly, much as I didn’t,” Hiashi squeezed Akemi’s hand, “However, Hanabi is under their influence. If Hinata were to remain heir and become clan leader, it would send a message to the clan that it is time to think outside our bloodline.”

“I still insist,” Kushina said, “that we ask Hinata before making a final decision regarding Kyuubi.” Kushina paused, shifting her weight from one foot to another, “When I was her age, I had no choice in the matter; she deserves at least to have a say.”

“We’ll talk with her when they get back from the mission,” Akemi said. Hiashi could hear a pang of regret in her voice. Everyone knew Hinata would say yes rather than look out for her own interests.

“I do have a special request,” Hiashi said, looking toward Jiraiya.

“Request? What kind of request?” the old sage looked confused as to what Hiashi could possibly want from him.

“I have no concept at what training someone who is a jinchuriki is like, Jiraiya,” Hiahshi paused, looking at the ground in shame, “And when my clan finds out what we’ve done, they will ostracize her officially – I’ll be expected to stop training her outright.” He looked toward Kushina and Minato, now arms around one another, “Normally, I’d say it’s not a big deal given how much she has trained with you two…”

“I’m sure Jiraiya would be honored to train Hinata,” Kushina spoke softly. “Right Jiraiya?” her tone shifted aggressively, implying a negative answer was not advisable.

For a moment, Jiraiya was dumbstruck, “You want me to what!”

“You’ve been training Naruto since you got in,” Minato jabbed playfully, “what more is another student?”

“I… have never trained a GIRL!!!” Jiraiya explained nervously.

Tsunade laughed, as did Lord Sarutobi and Minato. One person who did not laugh was Kushina, “She needs someone to train her beyond what I can do, and beyond what Kakashi will have time to do,” her tone became a low rumble.

“I…but she…I,” Jiraiya stumbled.

“Jiraiya,” Kushina’s eyes began burning like two coals of a dying fire, “You will do this, and you will be the old dog that learns a new trick – how not to be a pervert!” Kushina’s hair began to take on a life of its own. Hiashi had witnessed her angry several times; it was a most terrifying experience, even if she wasn’t fully channeling Kyuubi.

Everyone’s eyes grew wide, especially Minato and Jiraiya’s, “And let me assure you,” Kushina rumbled, “if you get any ideas of peeking, or anything else you’ve become legendary for,” her gaze became sinister, “YOU WILL NOT WAKE UP THE FOLLOWING MORNING!!!” The house shook as she shouted.

“Yes, Kushina,” Jiraiya squeaked as he nodded. The old sage turned pink as Tsunade began laughing hysterically. _I wonder if Kushina could teach that attitude to Hinata; it’d be useful dealing with the elders._

* * *

Lord Minato arrived home early from work the following day, as was customary on the day leading to a weekend – he made a hard rule not to stay late except in a dire emergency. On Friday, the family always sat down to dinner together and discussed the week. Tonight, dinner with the family was more special than usual – in the morning, his son would be leaving for his first mission. 

“Hi hon,” Kushina greeted him as he entered the kitchen. “I’m ordering carryout tonight; I’ll be picking it up in about another half-hour.”

“Carryout?” Minato asked, disappointed he wouldn’t be enjoying his wife’s cooking tonight.

“Naruto wanted Ichiraku’s on his last night before the mission, but I insisted we’d eat at home,” She smiled, “So we compromised.” Kushina walked up and kissed Minato deeply. _I never get sick of this!_

“You seem to be in an extra good mood, today,” he said as he took her in his arms. 

“Our first weekend with the house to ourselves in twelve years,” she grinned like a well-fed predator. “Think of all the fun we can have together,” Kushina squeezed herself against him. 

The temperature of the room rose several degrees, “Not too loudly,” he teased, “I don’t want to have that talk with Naruto just yet,” he winked before kissing her again. “Speaking of,” he said as he pulled back, “where is he, anyhow?”

“Upstairs in his room,” she said dreamily. “He’s been going over his gear for the past hour. You could set off an explosive tag and he wouldn’t notice.”

Minato wasn’t sure if it was an invitation, but it would have to wait, regardless. “I’m going to go make sure he packs correctly,” he said freeing himself from his wife’s embrace. “We can discuss this weekend… _later_ ,” he grinned as he took off for the stairs. While Minato looked forward to having some time alone with Kushina, he was extremely apprehensive about this weekend. Naruto would be the furthest from village he’d ever been, outside the barrier protecting the village. 

As he climbed the stairs, he could hear Naruto talking to himself indistinctly through the door. Every precaution was being taken. Kakashi and Jiraiya were both carrying kunai with marker seals on them – all they had to do was signal and Minato could be there instantly. There would be four jonin-level and nine genin-level shinobi on this mission, a D-ranked mission, inside their borders. A genin could probably do this mission solo without supervision. _So why am I so damn nervous?_

As he opened the door to Naruto’s room, an array of bits and pieces lay spread out across the floor and his bed. His son stood surveying the not-quite-mess intently, as if contemplating if he was forgetting anything. “Oh, hey Dad!” Naruto looked up from his task to greet Minato.

“Wow,” Minato said, “you sure are taking this seriously!” Minato scanned the items: several bundles of nylon cord, rain poncho, a pup tent kit, a multipurpose tool, two compasses, several packs of salt ramen, water purification tablets, a simple first aid kit, a metal mess kit, multiple pairs of socks and underwear, hand sanitizer, a large canteen, waterproof matches, and assorted other things necessary for camping. Naruto’s bedroll was neatly rolled up on his bed, next to it was a map with a detailed route of their trek to and from the village marked out.

“I’m hoping I’m not packing too much,” Naruto said, “I know it’s only thirteen miles, but we’ll be out there on survival exercises for five days.”

Minato surveyed the items Naruto would be packing. Overall the kid had packed well. “Son,” Minato pointed to the ramen, “I’d recommend bringing more than that in terms of survival food.”

“But Kakashi said we’d be primarily living off what we can find in the wilderness,” Naruto replied.

“If you want to survive off of worms, ants, crickets, and leaves for five days; have at it!” Minato laughed, “Take it from someone who’s been on a field mission or two,” he winked as he leaned on the door frame. 

Traditionally, a shinobi’s first mission was issued by the Hokage, and it was usually an occasion of major fanfare. Minato remembered his first mission. Sadly, it hadn’t been a training exercise, and unlike Naruto, he hadn’t time to even prepare for it in the least. The word had come in that Kushina was missing on her first mission – it too, had been a D-ranked mission. Because of her raucous personality at the time, she had been sent solo on a courier mission, delivering a simple message between villages. 

It surprised everyone when he volunteered immediately for the search and rescue mission. Everyone other than Lord Sarutobi thought she had run away given how unpopular Kushina had been at that time. He had left immediately carrying nothing but a few shuriken and a kunai – nothing else. Minato searched frantically for almost two days before finding her and her kidnappers, just short of the border with Kumokagure. Had he been any slower, they might have taken her, and he would never have had the chance to tell her his feelings. _That’s what you’re afraid of, isn’t it? How easy would it be for someone to follow the group of them, isolate Naruto, and snatch him away before anyone knew any better? Could you pull the same trick off again?_

“Dad,” Naruto queried, “are you all right?” Naruto’s face wrinkled with concern. Minato soon realized he had been shaking this whole time. 

“Yes son,” he lied as he shook out of his negative thoughts, “I’m fine.” Minato soon noticed something missing from Naruto’s array. “Son, where are your kunai, where are your shuriken?”

Naruto laughed slightly, “Come on, Dad, this is a D-ranked mission. No opposition, other than the woods, and we’re still well inside our own borders. Carrying weapons is just dead weight.”

Minato didn’t share his son’s cheery optimism on the issue. In fact, he had half a mind to scold his son for being so careless, “Naruto…” he stopped, staring at his son’s smiling blue eyes. He could be like any other number of fathers and tell him he’d done wrong, or he could show him why.

“Dad?” Naruto’s eyes shifted with concern.

“Son,” Minato wiped away a stray tear, “come with me please. I need to show you something.” He led Naruto out the front door. Hopefully, they’d be back before Kushina had dinner ready. “Take my hand, Naruto, this might be a little weird.” Naruto did as instructed, and Minato used a Thunder God Transportation Technique. In a flash of bright light, they were instantly transported to the entrance to Training Ground Three.

“Whoa!” Naruto took a moment to catch his footing and balance.

“First time is always the hardest, you may feel a little dizzy”

“Dad,” Naruto scanned the area, “What are we doing here?” His voice was confused, “We don’t leave until the morning.”

Minato pointed to the stone memorial that stood in the clearing, “You know what that is?” Minato asked as he approached the marker. He saw many names, some familiar, others from a period before his time.

“Yeah, Dad, I know what it is,” Naruto put his hands on the back of his head, “it has the names of those shinobi who died in the line of duty.”

Minato ran his fingers along the names, tracing to eight in particular, “Did Kakashi ever explain what it meant if they have the Hidden Leaf symbol inscribed next to them?”

“No,” Naruto lowered his arms, looking hard at the memorial, “I always thought it was decorative.”

“It means that person died protecting the Hokage and his family,” Minato said somberly. He could still see the faces of Lord Third’s wife, the assistant midwife, and the six ANBU tasked with protecting Kushina during Naruto’s birth. They had been friends, one was getting married, and another was an expectant father. Minato felt tears leaking from his eyes. _I failed you all because of my arrogance!_

“Dad! Dad!” Naruto screamed. When Minato opened his eyes, he was kneeling before the marker, the names staring him back in the face. “Dad, what’s wrong!” Naruto yelled.

“I’ll be all right son,” Minato wiped away hot, sticky tears, “I just… I…” he stopped for a moment. “I just always tear up when I see them.”

“See them?” Naruto asked.

“Lord Third’s wife, her assistant, and the six ANBU who were assigned to protect us the night you were born,” Minato sniffled, “It’s my fault their names are on here.” The floodgates opened again, “If I hadn’t been so pigheaded…”

“Dad, you didn’t kill any of them!” his son tried to reassure him. “They died because Obito went crazy and killed them.”

“Had I taken more precautions…”

“Dad,” Naruto’s eyes began expanding in realization and tears, “You couldn’t have done any more! You know that!”

“He’s still out there, Naruto,” Minato snorted back tears, “he came when I wasn’t ready. He almost killed you and mom!”

“He didn’t Dad!” Naruto exclaimed, “and he won’t! Not as long as your Hokage and I’m your son!” Naruto looked down at the ground, “This is why you got so upset when I didn’t pack my weapons?”

“I came unprepared, Naruto!” Minato pleaded, “Had it not been for Kakashi…”

“I’ll pack my weapons then,” Naruto paused, setting his face back to a thin smile. “And I’ll call the others to make sure they do the same.”

Minato stopped his tears long enough to compose himself. “I think,” he paused, “You’re ready then.”

“Ready for what?” Minato took his son’s hand. Without warning him, he used Thunder God Technique to transport them back to the house, this time to Minato’s personal armory and training dojo – the one room he never allowed Naruto in. Once Naruto caught his balance, his eyes opened wide in wonderment. Minato’s white Hokage garb hung on the wall, as did row upon row of hand weapons: kunai, shuriken, katana, wakizashi, an extremely long ōdachi, yari, naginata, and other exotic weapon types. “Dad?!” Naruto said excitedly like it was his birthday all over again.

“I never thought this day would come,” Minato walked over to a shelf, picking up a decorative case, “but it’s my duty as a father to make sure you have every edge if you’re going out there.”

Naruto accepted the case, gingerly opening it. The case contained a half-dozen kunai and a dozen shuriken of the highest quality. “I don’t know what to say!”

“Just remember, these are not training weapons,” Minato raised a finger, “if you use them, use them to protect the ones you care about. These are _lethal_! They will kill someone if you use them.”

“I promise I’ll only use them to protect my friends and myself, Dad!” Naruto clicked the case closed. “I’ll keep everyone safe, believe it!”

“Boys with their toys, I see!” Kushina’s voice came from the doorway. “I was wondering when you’d finally let him in here.”

Minato smiled at his son, “Son, my training room and armory is at your disposal,” he paused, “just don’t let it get to be a mess like your room!”

“Hey! Give me a little credit!” Naruto jested, as he hugged him. “I promise I’ll keep everyone safe Dad, don’t worry about it!”

While Minato knew any number of things could go wrong, he knew his son wasn’t one of them. _You raised him well; now is the time to let go. He’ll be a man before you know it!_


	18. Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Hinata checked her watch, twenty minutes past midnight. A quick check of her Byakugan confirmed everyone in the camp was asleep, including Sasuke, who was supposed to be standing guard. She knew she could get into trouble for what she was about to do, but right now she didn’t care. She needed to blow off steam, and this was probably the last place to do it for a few days. _Why did I have to forget my knitting bag!_

She gingerly unzipped her sleeping bag and stalked her way out of the tent. The October night air was crisp, but thankfully there was no wind. The campfire at the center of the large camp cast shadows throughout the clearing, sending a chill down her spine. She checked her Byakugan again, nothing, absolutely no one stirring for at least fifty meters in all directions. She raced past a snoozing Sasuke with padded footfalls. _So much for security!_

The first two days of this mission were pleasant enough. Day one, had been a rigorous hike in hilly terrain with several stops for training: mock prisoner rescue, plant recognition and foraging, ambushing, and other drills. Day one culminated with making camp and everyone having to demonstrate fire-making without the benefit of chakra or matches. Naruto had to help her a lot, but they both did eventually get an ember started. After the frustration of making it, it was a huge accomplishment.

Hinata walked through the dark woods with the same pace she would have if it were light out – her eyes could scarcely tell the difference. Finally, she reached her objective. The waterfall in the nearby river glowed silvery in the moonlight. She again checked, no one present. Hinata removed her shoes, and she focused her chakra to cross the river over the water’s surface. 

She found a decent set of bushes and rocks to hide behind, and she disrobed. Hinata cursed herself for not bringing swimwear, but she hadn’t expected to find such a perfect spot to practice mixing dance with water release techniques. In fact, she’d found the spot by accident when she was sent to gather water for the camp. After keeping a low profile since her incident with Hanabi a few days earlier, the temptation was too great – her body and soul needed to bend and move.

The night air and the spray of the waterfall were cold, making her skin tingle throughout as she leapt onto the water’s surface. Hinata did a few pirouettes to make sure she could concentrate her water release and dance at the same time. Staying on top of the surface proved surprisingly easy. With just a bit more concentration, she could command the water around her to dance. 

She leapt across the surface, rotating slowly as she summoned twin helixes of water around her like a waterspout. Here she was in control, and the world could spin past her for all she cared. She balanced on one thin, muscular dancer’s leg as she prepared to leap into the rest of her routine. “Excuse me!” a familiar voice called from the riverbank. _NARUTO!!!_

Hinata’s hands instinctively covered her chest, not that it mattered, he could see everything else! Hinata didn’t waste time half-leaping, half-sprinting for the bushes where she kept her clothes. As she took cover, she stopped to breathe. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you whoever you are!” Naruto called out, having fallen into the river. _He doesn’t know it’s me!_

Hinata took the very slim window of opportunity his confusion afforded her. Quietly, she slipped back into her underlayers and drew closer to the side of the waterfall, careful to stay behind cover. She then used the sound of the falling water to mask the noisier process of getting the rest of her outfit on. If she could be convincing, there might be a way out of this without dealing with any level of embarrassment. She straightened her hair and stepped out from behind cover. “Na-Naurto-kun?” she feigned surprise, “What are you doing in the river?”

“Hinata?” Naruto called back confused, “What are you doing out here?”

Without hesitating, she gave the one answer no one would question: “I-I had to use the ladies’ room.” Hinata fidgeted with her fingers. _If he asks questions, I’m in for it!_

“Oh, gotcha!” he laughed as he stepped up from the water. “I had to go, too! I had just finished when I noticed this waterfall. 

“It is quite pretty, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, especially at night like this!” he exclaimed. “By the way, you didn’t happen to see a really pretty girl dancing in the water when you came this way, did you?”

Hinata flushed at Naruto’s words. “N-no! I can say that I did,” she said nervously. Going for double jeopardy, she asked, “What did she look like?”

“I only caught her outline, really,” he said, “but she was thin and tightly built like she danced a lot, kind of like you!”

_Is he baiting me, or has he been noticing me?!_ Naruto hadn’t even remotely expressed attraction or appreciation of anyone’s form, except for the use of perverted jutsus. Curiosity overrode caution, “So,” she nervously twisted her foot back and forth, “you liked what you saw?”

“Oh, heck yeah!” Naruto said, “She had this amazing dance routine, and when she moved herself the water danced around her, too!”

A very naughty part of Hinata wanted to jump back in the water to demonstrate, but the sane, behaved part of her decided it would have to wait until they were both considerably older. “And where is this pretty girl?” she asked.

“I don’t know, she just vanished when I slipped and fell in,” Naruto said, “You didn’t see her, did you?”

_I am her!_ Hinata blushed, grateful for the darkness, “Nope,” she fidgeted nervously, “didn’t see her at all! M-maybe you saw a water spirit or something like that!”

“Nah,” Naruto said, “those are just fairytales!” Naruto laughed for a moment but sounded nervous, “Right?”

“Who knows,” Hinata teased, “if you like what you saw, maybe it was a vision of your future girlfriend,” Hinata giggled as they started walking back to camp. Flirting with Naruto was flirting with disaster if he put two and two together. _But it is so damn fun!_ On the other hand, flirting with him like this made her heart feel light in a way she hadn’t felt in a while.

“That would be something,” he pondered aloud, deep in thought by his tone.

_Time to change subjects._ “Yeah well,” she laughed, “let’s get you back to camp and dried off. You’ll catch a cold like that out in this weather!” On the short walk back to camp, Hinata pondered what she was feeling about Naruto lately. She had always admired him and his unbreakable spirit. Hinata had been grateful for him lending her that spirit when she needed it – lately, she needed it almost constantly. On one hand, she worried about being a burden to him, becoming dependent. On the other hand, Naruto never seemed to mind; he almost seemed to enjoy having a chance to share his support. He was only twelve, and she wasn’t going to be twelve for almost a month and a half. She was too young to be having these thoughts and feelings, wasn’t she?

“Earth to Hinata!” Naruto exclaimed. As she snapped out of her focus, an unseen rock tripped up Hinata, and she stumbled forward. She would have faceplanted into the dirt had Naruto’s strong arm not caught her. “Easy, there,” Naruto said with a nervous laugh, “I don’t want Neji or your parents complaining about you getting injured on my watch!” He steadied her upright with his arms, and her heart began pulsating in her throat.

“Thank you,” she wheezed. As they re-entered camp, Sasuke was still out. _I can’t sleep anyhow!_ “Sasuke,” she poked him in the side with her foot.

Sasuke snorted loudly as his eyes shot wide open, “I’m awake!”

“Good one, sleeping beauty!” Naruto hollered, “Had we not been friendly, we could have cut your throat and killed everyone in camp!”

“I was just resting my eyes, I swear!” Sasuke replied breathlessly.

“Sasuke,” Hinata sighed, “why don’t you call off watch early? I can’t sleep anyhow.” Hinata checked her watch, 1237, she’d be on watch until 0200. 

“Hinata, are you sure?” Naruto asked.

“You’ve already been up for your watch, Naruto. Besides,” she shrugged, “I’m a bit of a night owl, too.”

Naruto sounded too bone-weary to protest, “Whatever, Hinata,” he yawned, “just make sure someone from Team Ten takes over at 0200. And get some sleep after that; we have a long day tomorrow.” Naruto shed his wet jacket, leaving it to dry on a log near the fire, and he crawled back to his pup tent. Hinata heard further rustling of him changing out of his wet shoes and uniform parts before being followed up by the still silence of Naruto having gone back to sleep. Sasuke did the same. 

The still, cool night air gripped Hinata. Despite being surrounded by friends, the sense of loneliness made her heart tremble. The forest around her seemed to have eyes, all of which were staring at her. _Stop it!_ Hinata began stretching to burn off some of her excess energy as well as to focus her mind. She did a few pirouettes in placed and a couple quick dance steps softly so as to not wake everyone in camp – instantly feeling better for having done so. 

Hinata activated her Byakugan, testing its limits. Cousin Neji was able to push it to almost five hundred meters now, Father could make out detail as far as ten kilometers, and she currently was around seventy meters. Past that, focusing her vision began giving her a headache. Nevertheless, she pushed this time: one hundred meters, two hundred, and finally around three hundred. _I’m getting stronger!_ Hinata smiled at her achievement.

As she scanned, she took note of several things in camp: Asuma Sensei was not in his tent, nor was he at the perimeter having a smoke break. He was curled up with Kurenai in her tent. _Those two a couple? I would never have guessed!_ It was none of Hinata’s business, and she was happy if Kurenai sensei was happy; she just thought gruff Asuma-Sensei was a bit mismatched with her. Aunt Kushina had invited Kurenai over to train with Hinata for most of the last year due to Kushina’s inability to mold chakra properly. Kushina had insisted Hinata needed someone to train with who could properly teach her chakra techniques. Kurenai was a kind woman, much like Kushina, and Hinata wouldn’t have minded had she ended up on Team Eight as a result.

Hinata’s mind wandered to Naruto, laying in his boxers as his field uniform hung from the front of his tent. She had to stifle a laugh. Naruto looked cute. _I wonder what he’s dreaming about. I wonder what it would be like lying next to him the way Kurenai is lying next to Asuma?_ Hinata knew she was too young to even think about it – shinobi weren’t considered adults until they were sixteen. Nevertheless, the thought was there.

A flash of movement at the edge of her narrow blind spot broke Hinata’s train of thought. Something was moving there in the forest. _Relax, it could just be a wild animal… an animal that happens to know where your Byakugan’s blind spot would be!_ Anxiety gripped Hinata. If it was someone who knew she was a Byakugan user, it wasn’t a casual bandit or a transient thief looking to raid the camp for something valuable. Discretely, Hinata reached into her pocket, extracting her security whistle. She then knelt down to mimic tying her shoe. Hinata used the motion to clench the whistle between her teeth. With extreme subtly, she tilted herself forward, gently moving her blind spot up in her field of view.

What she saw was horrific. The man, or whatever it was, stood tall, at least Kakashi’s height. While he wore a mask, the right side of his face was creased like it had been crushed under an earthmover. There was something else, his chakra network looked all screwed up, like it wasn’t in the proper place. Hinata sucked in a deep gasp of air through her nose and unleashed a piercing screech from her whistle.

* * *

The angry scream of a whistle jolted Naruto awake from a horrific nightmare – happy to find his sleeping bag wasn’t soaked in piss. As the flailed about, he managed to kick out the pole supporting his pup tent, causing it to collapse on top of him. _Dammit, really!_ A short struggle later, and he was outside the disheveled tent and at Hinata’s side, wearing nothing but his green boxers with red hearts on them. Everyone else had already gathered, and Hinata was speaking frantically. _Dammit, had that been a real emergency, someone might be dead right now! Hinata might be dead right now!_ The thought chilled Naruto to the core. 

“What a pain!” Shikamaru complained, “There ain’t nothing there, Hinata!”

“I’m telling you, someone or something was there!” she protested vigorously.

“Perhaps you should put some clothes on, Naruto,” Sasuke mocked him, “especially if you’re planning on going into battle. Sasuke grinned, “Then again, you running around in your underwear would probably scare off most assailants!” 

No one laughed. For the moment, Naruto ignored Sasuke’s commentary. Hinata looked terrified and sounded genuinely agitated. Naruto momentarily considered the amount of stress Hinata had been under recently, and she was easily fatigued from staying up so late. _Not to mention, you probably scared her when you interrupted whatever she was doing by the waterfall._ Naruto was dense at times, but even he was pretty sure he could match the physical outline he saw to Hinata. Just the thought of her dancing in the water made his heart race and his mind wander to strange places he dared not go.

Regardless, Naruto put his mind back on subject. Hinata, even under undue stress, was not prone to flights of hysterics. If she saw something, then there was something. “Hinata, where was it?” he asked in his most soothing voice. She pointed in the direction of his tent. 

Naruto calmly walked back to his tent, fetching a kunai and a flashlight from his bag. Despite his calm appearance, he felt himself shaking as he walked beyond the camp boundary, and it wasn’t just the cold chilling him. “Naruto,” Kakashi called after him, “you’re going to catch your death like that? And why aren’t you dressed, anyhow?”

“It’s a long story chief,” Naruto paused to sniff the air, “I’ll tell you later.” The grass under his bare feet felt like creepy-crawlies, almost causing him to yell out. He was maybe five meters into the woods when the smell hit him. “Kiba!” he hollered, “Get over here now!”

Kiba and his dog Akamaru came up quickly. A several quick sniffs, and Kiba nodded. “See if you can track it, boy!” Akamaru began sniffing vigorously, following a trail a short distance before turning in circles, growling at the woods.

“What is it?” Naruto gripped the cold metal of his Kunai like a sailor clinging to a life ring. 

A series of barks and growls between Kiba and Akamaru ended with Kiba nodding solemnly; by now, everyone else joined them. “Someone was here, very recently, too!”

“Then where are they?” Kurenai asked, scanning the dark woods around them.

“That’s just it, the trail disappears only a few feet from where they were standing,” Kiba grunted, “And there were two of them.”

“Two?” Hinata’s voice squeaked, “But I only saw one?”

“What did you see exactly?” Kakashi inquired.

“He was your height and build, Kakashi,” she explained, all the while scanning the woods with her Byakugan, “but he looked all screwed up, like his chakra network was all over the place like some piece of abstract art!”

Naruto caught Kakashi’s unhidden right eye widening. “What did he look like?” Kakashi sounded concerned.

“The right side of his face was all screwed up,” she shivered, “like it had ridges like it had been crushed or smashed in a machine.

All color drained from Kakashi, “Let me guess,” he was wearing a swirl pattern mask, one eye socket?” Naruto felt a chill down his spine, too.

“How did you know that?” Hinata asked?

“Can you see him, Hinata?” Naruto crouched low, expecting an attack from any direction. Kakashi more subtly adopted a defensive stance.

Hinata quickly spun side to side, “No sign of him, at least not for a hundred meters! What’s going on?”

“Everyone back into camp right now!” Kakashi ordered, and everyone obeyed. Despite being near the campfire, Naruto felt cold all over. He knew it was Obito stalking them. Dad had clearly described the man to him as someone to avoid at all costs.

“Okay everyone, we have a serious situation,” Kakashi tried to keep his voice level, but Naruto could hear cracks, “from now until sunrise at least one jonin and one genin is to remain on watch. No one is to leave the camp, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Naruto joined the others in unison.

“Kakashi,” Sasuke asked, “What are we up against?” The boy crossed his arms in front of him.

“An S-ranked criminal, Sasuke,” Kakashi shook his head grimly, “and no, this is not part of the training exercise, we are in real danger here.”

Muttering came throughout the group. “Kakashi,” Naruto asked, “if he’s so powerful why didn’t he attack?”

Kakashi glared back at Naruto, considering him, “I honestly don’t know, but that doesn’t matter. We need to get back to the village as soon as we can.”

“What about the mission?” Naruto asked, concerned.

“What about it, Naruto?” Choji said, “You heard him, we’re in danger if we don’t turn back!”

“But we’re only an hour or two hike from our destination!” Ino protested, “How would it look if we turned away from a D-ranked mission, our first mission, because of a bogeyman!”

“I don’t know about you, Ino-pig, but I value my life a lot more than a glorified groundskeeping job!” Sakura chided.

“Hold it!” Kakashi boomed. Everyone stopped for a moment. “It seems we have a disagreement, and some legitimate points have been made. Being that this is your mission and not ours,” he paused to scan the group, “I’ll leave between you all who wants to head straight home, and who wants to carry on. Majority rules, and we all follow that ruling! All in favor of returning to Konoha at sunrise, raise your hands!”

Sakura, Choji, Shino, and Shikamaru raised their hands. Naruto felt himself torn to the point where his hand shook. _I want to go home! You’d be a disgrace to your father if you ran home now! We’re in real danger here! If he was going to attack, he would have done it by now!_

“All in favor of carrying on the mission, raise your hand,” Kakashi ordered. Ino, Kiba, Sasuke, and Hinata all raised their hands. Again, Naruto’s arm shook, but he didn’t raise it. “Naruto, we seem to have a tie, how do you vote?” Kakashi put him on the spot.

Naruto’s feet grew impossibly colder than he thought possible walking around barefoot and in his underwear. Everyone was staring, and his heart was in his throat. _Are you really going to be a coward in front of Hinata? Will Sasuke ever let you live this down if you chicken out while wearing nothing but your boxers? Will you ever forgive yourself for turning your back on the midwife who died bring you into the world!_ “I say we carry on!” Naruto said, regaining his confidence “We’re already most of the way there. If we move diligently, it’s only an hour or two job,” he turned to Kakashi, “and what’s to say turning back immediately is any safer than completing the mission first?”

Kakashi nodded. “Very well, we’ll do it your way, Naruto.” Kakashi turned to the rest of the group, “Everyone, for the remainder of this mission, Naruto is the field commander. The jonin and I will only step in your lives are in danger or we feel it necessary.” Kakashi turned back to Naruto, “What are your orders?”

Naruto swallowed a hard lump in his throat. Like Konohamaru, he longed for a chance to prove himself more than just the family he came from. Now that he had a chance, the butterflies in his stomach threatened to overwhelm him. “I say,” Naruto paused, finding his voice, “We stick to the original plan, one jonin and one genin on watch at all times. Everyone else try to get some shut eye until 0600, and we move out at first light. We’ll attack whatever problems wait at the shrine when we get there. Everyone understand?”

No one answered. “I said, it that understood?” Naruto raised his voice as authoritative as he could sound.

“Yes, sir!” the camp replied.

“And whomever is getting off watch at 0500 wake me,” he said, “I’ll take last watch and be responsible for waking the camp.”

A series of nods, and everyone began heading back to their tents. Naruto stared at Jiraiya, who had said nothing the whole time. “Grandpa, is something the matter?”

“Well, _commander_ ,” Jiraiya carefully accented Naruto’s new title, “I have some advice, if you’ll hear it; after all, you’re now leading this bunch, you make the ultimate decision.” _And you’re ultimately responsible if this fails,_ Jiraiya left unsaid. 

“Please, I’m open to any advice,” Naruto said, taking note that Kakashi was walking nearby.

“Naruto, we haven’t long to chat about this, but I can summon one of the Toads of Mount Myoboku, and so can your father. We can send a message back to Konoha discretely this way – without giving away that we’ve done so.”

“You want my father to know we’re in danger.”

“Naruto, we don’t want to steal this mission out from under you,” Kakashi chimed in, “But Obito is actually double-S-ranked. He killed six ANBU the night you were born like it was nothing…” Kakashi’s voice began straining against what Naruto expected to be tears. Kakashi, like Dad, knew everyone who died that night.

“It’s all right, and yes, we’re in over our heads,” he turned to Jiraiya, “Please tell dad to send help.”

Jiraiya nodded, “Naruto, you do realize we are two, two and a half, days from help if they left right now. Your dad of course could get here faster, but we’ll still be on our own tomorrow at least.”

Naruto felt the weight of the situation on his shoulders, “We do what we came here for,” he said, “If we jackrabbit now, he’ll just chase us, might be expecting us to run for safety.”

Kakashi and Jiraiya nodded. “Get some sleep, kiddo, you have a long few days ahead,” Jiraiya said. “I’ll send the message in a few minutes.”

Naruto walked back to his tent, eying the tree line suspiciously. He turned to Hinata, standing by the campfire with Kurenai. “Hinata, are you sure you don’t want to change watch?” Naruto asked.

She shook her head, “I can’t sleep anyhow, I’ll stay up through this watch.”

Naruto nodded an understanding. He didn’t know if he could sleep, either. He stalked back to his tent, felling the eyes of the forest on him as he stood his tent back up. He put back on his mission gear, by now mostly dried out – best not to get caught undressed again. As he crawled in, he kept a kunai in his right hand and two shuriken by his left. 

A quick glance at his watch told him it was five minutes to two. He closed his eyes, but sleep remained elusive. He woke several times, noticing that while the guards had changed, Hinata was still next to the campfire, scanning the woods. _That can’t be good for her to be using her Byakugan so much!_ Indeed, Hinata had told him it could cause her severe headaches and exhaustion to use her Byakugan for prolonged periods. 

Naruto closed his eyes, thinking about Hinata, but soon she was pushed aside by the nightmare. It was the same that it had been since the night they left for the mission: Naruto’s parents had died the night he was born. His parents had sealed Kurama inside him, but the village knew he was a jinchuriki. He grew up an outcast with no family, no friends. Naruto sat on the tree swing outside the academy, tears running down his face as parents came for his classmates, but no one came for him. “Naruto,” a soft voice came from behind him.

When Naruto awoke, he found himself in an unfamiliar bedroom. He looked around; it looked like a room in his parents’ house, but he could distinctly tell it was a different house. When Naruto looked down, he noticed he wasn’t a kid anymore – he was a fully-grown man! “Naruto,” a strained, feminine voice called next to him. He turned to see Hinata, also fully-grown, reclined on her side next to him. Her face looked uncertain, almost a bit scared. “Naruto,” she rubbed at the swollen mass of her stomach, “Naruto, the baby is coming…” she moaned. _BABY!!!_ “Naruto… Naruto!!!”

“Naruto! Wake up!” Hinata’s voice shook him back into his pup tent. Naruto flailed about. He was a kid again. He gulped several deep breathes as he looked out the entrance to his tent, Hinata knelt over him, also still a kid. “It’s 0500 you said, you wanted to be woken then.”

Naruto confirmed the time by his watch. He looked back at Hinata. Dark circles pooled under her eyes, and her voice had sounded congested. “Hinata, did you sleep at all?”

“I couldn’t,” she pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her bloodshot eyes, “not after the scare we had.” Her voice sounded scratchy.

Naruto slid out of his tent and put his boots back on, “We still have an hour, Hinata,” he said. “Why don’t you lay down next to the campfire, I’ll keep watch while you rest.”

“A-are you sure?”

“Hinata, I’m last watch, and I’m waking the camp. You need whatever sleep you can; we’re all already going to be tired as is.”

“O-okay, Naruto-kun,” she stammered. Hinata nervously laid down a short distance from the campfire. Naruto found himself a nearby log and sat near her, continuing to scan the woods. Every animal noise, every rustle of bushes was a potential threat, but nothing came for them. For a moment, he took his eyes off the woods and looked at Hinata, shivering slightly despite her proximity to the fire.

Naruto took off his jacket and draped in over her. Her shivering stopped. She looked so peaceful. Naruto wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt so protective of her. _Maybe it was the weird dream._ As he watched the clock tick down, he kept thinking of her even as his eyes scanned the tree line for danger. Hinata had jokingly suggested he had some vision of the future when he saw the girl in the waterfall – the girl he was pretty sure was her. _Is the dream a vision, too?_ He couldn’t tell. He certainly liked Hinata, but here and now was neither the time nor place to explore the issue. They were in danger, and there wouldn’t be time to figure things out if they both died today. 

Before he knew it, his watch read 0600. Naruto began waking up the camp. They had a long day ahead. Everyone had been woken except Hinata. “Hinata,” he gently brushed her hair from her face, “time to wake up.”

Her eyes opened, and she leaned up, seeing his jacket over her. “N-Naurto-kun?”

“You were shivering,” he explained, hoping he wasn’t blushing too badly. He offered her a hand, “it’s time to get moving, Hinata.” He helped her to her feet, and she handed him back his jacket. He could faintly detect the scent of rose water and jasmine around his collar. The scent invigorated him through his exhaustion. Despite all the possible danger ahead, the familiar scent that had guided him to her rescue years ago reassured him. _Everything will be okay, just keep the team safe… and keep her safe!_


	19. Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Invisible hammers pounded at the sides of Kakashi’s skull with fatigue as he watched the cleanup detail work. As he rubbed his temples, Kakashi marveled at how energetically Naruto led the team clearing the overgrown area around the ruined safehouse. Naruto, himself was carefully buffing the stone memorial to Lord Third’s wife – a statue of her holding a baby Naruto. _I can’t believe it’s been twelve years!_

The tree Kakashi had used to stand watch from lay sprawled behind the ruin. Judging by the recent rot, it had blown down in a storm not too long ago, although the tree still bore scars from the fight – bits and pieces of brick, plaster, and splinters peppered the upper trunk. It was just another victim of the events of that night.

“You all right, Kakashi?” Asuma asked, his voice gruff as ever.

Kakashi looked back at the building, or what was left of it, peeling back the layers of time. He had been the sole survivor of the ANBU bodyguard detail. He could still see Minato, Kushina, and himself scattered outside the house after the explosion. Obito’s swirl mask had been blow away sufficiently to reveal the now grown Obito’s deformed face. He saw Kushina, bleeding with a splinter of wood the size of a human forearm impaling her through the abdomen. Minato was thrusting the newly born Naruto into his arms, ordering him to meet him at the hospital with Naruto.

“Kakashi?” Asuma asked.

“I’m fine,” he lied. That night had almost broken Kakashi. He could do nothing but sit and watch as six of his teammates were cut down in short order, coming up on his opponent to the grizzly sight of Lord Third’s wife and her assistant dead on the floor. When it came time to confront the assailant, Kakashi had driven a kunai through the man’s neck, severing muscle and nerve alike. Then came the horror of the explosive tags bursting and seeing Obito’s face – the teammate he’d left behind. _Had I not left him behind, had I thought of something, anything!_

Kakashi had determined to kill himself after getting Minato and his family to safety – final atonement for causing so much suffering through his inactions. One thing stopped him: the blonde baby thrust into his arms and the promise of a Hokage that all the dishonor heaped on his family would be erased. Something about holding the helpless newborn forced Kakashi to reconsider his decision. Suddenly, he was responsible for a new life more important than his own. Not wanting to leave another life permanently scarred by trauma the way his father had left him, Kakashi decided to get help. Lady Tsunade and some of the counselors at the hospital had been a tremendous help, reminding him of what he could yet achieved after saving the Hokage’s family. If he taught the baby, trained him properly, he would grow to erase the mistakes of Kakashi’s past. But Kakashi had to stay alive and not give up in order to see that dream realized. The dream of seeing his nephew, the son he’d never have, grow up to be a better man than he was the one thing that kept him getting out of bed in the morning, especially when all he wanted to do was lay down and never get back up.

“I’m fine, Asuma,” Kakashi said a firmer than before. “Where are we with clean up?”

“Almost done! The kids really came together,” Asuma said, cracking a smile. “Even my lazy bunch.” Azuma pulled out a cigarette, his fingers shaking as he withdrew a lighter from his pocket, flipping on the flame. Kakashi recognized Asuma’s pack a day nicotine addiction for what it was, an addiction. Unexpectedly, Asuma flipped the lighter shut and put the little white roll of death over his ear. 

Kakashi almost asked what had Asuma spooked when he saw Kurenai approaching. _Ah, that._ Few things were secret to Kakashi: he knew Naruto and Hinata had both left camp last night for something other than just using the restroom, he knew Sasuke had gotten bored and fallen asleep on watch last night, and Kakashi knew Asuma had taken the opportunity to sneak into Kurenai’s tent to be with her last night. After losing both his parents at a young age, Kakashi never had anyone to explain to him about love and relationships. After Rin’s self-sacrifice, Kakashi never wanted to be close to anyone romantically, even though they were never involved. Some things just had too much potential to be painful, and he couldn’t imaging unloading his baggage on anyone.

“Kakashi, we’re all done,” Kurenai said. Kakashi noted she had her camera around her neck. Kurenai was the mission’s official documentarian, and until today, she had been snapping pictures of the kids and the everyone for both the mission log and her scrapbook that she kept of her team’s adventures. “Why don’t you two get together for a photo?”

“We’re supposed to be on alert, Kurenai,” Asuma replied, standing next to Kakashi begrudgingly.

“Lighten up,” she said, “Jiraiya and Hinata are currently on watch, and the others are getting ready to leave! What’s the worst that could happen from taking a picture?” She aimed the camera and snapped the photo.

Kakashi was about to answer the rhetorical question, but he thought better of it. He took a last look at the ruin of the house. He chided himself for one last failure involving Rin: the fact that he went to her grave to talk with her before Naruto’s birth was probably what got everyone here killed that night. Obito must have been listening to the conversation he had with her headstone – it was the only way he could have known that the birth was happening; otherwise it was a closely guarded secret. After that terrible night, he had never told her again what was happening in his life, fearful that he’d get someone else killed. “By the way,” Kurenai called over her shoulder as she walked away, “Your nephew had something he wanted to talk to you about!”

He looked back at the kids, now gathering in formation. _This is ridiculous! You screwed up then when you left Obito behind, and you screwed up here because you told a dead friend your life issues! Get over your self-pity here and now or you’ll end up planting all nine of those kids standing there!_ Kakashi straightened himself. There was no time for further sulking. His one and only objective now was getting the teams back safely, and he needed to focus. Obito would not be merciful if he attacked. Kakashi stared at the memorial statue to Lord Third’s wife; he had no intention of saving baby Naruto only to lose him at this age.

As he approached the group, Naruto ran up to him excitedly. “Uncle Kakashi,” Naruto brandished his field map, “I’ve got something I want to talk to you about!”

“Easy, Naruto,” Kakashi replied in a hush tone, inviting his nephew to keep his voice down, “What’s up?”

“Sasuke and I were looking at the map,” he pointed to a series of red marks on the field map. The rendezvous point with the ANBU detail sent to meet them was marked with a red “X” and there were a series of crude calculations drawn along the trail from which they came and one following the nearby river. Naruto continued, “and we noticed the river trail would easily shave almost two hours off our trek – we could be there and home by nightfall.”

Kakashi looked at the boy’s crude calculations; he was indeed correct. The original mission profile had them stopping periodically to do training exercises; even with that part of the mission gone, they had an eight hour hike home on their original course. The river trail was geographically a much shorter distance on a map, but the map did not show the fact that the trail followed steep bluffs overlooking the river it flowed with – all of it going uphill on the outbound leg versus the gradual, meandering woodland path they’d taken. “Naruto,” Kakashi replied, “You do realize that path is closed this time of year?”

Naruto nodded, “I know, prone to rockslides and landslides, especially during a rainy autumn,” the boy turned his hands up and shrugged, “but it’s been unusually dry the past two weeks, and we’d have the advantage of going downhill the entire time. Besides, it also gives us the advantage over Obito if he attacks?”

“How so?” Kakashi was curious as to how Naruto came to that conclusion.

“Well, if we take to the woodland trail we used on the way out, he has an infinite number of spots he can attack from, right? And he’s also expecting us to take that trail.”

Naruto was not wrong. “Go on…”

“Well,” Naruto shifted, “if we follow the river trail, he can’t attack from the river itself, not in any practical sense, and…”

Kakashi was astounded – this was actual tactical decision-making from this nephew. “Go on,” Kakashi said intently.

Naruto nodded, “…and the steep hillsides will limit his ability to attack from the side, meaning he can only attack uphill – in which case we’ll see him coming – or downhill from behind. In that case, we can at least predict from where he’d attack.”

“Color me impressed,” Kakashi nodded. “Tell you what, we have a ways to hike before we reach the point where have to decide which trail to take; let’s decide when we get there, okay?”

“Okay!” Naruto ran off to grab his gear. _The kid has potential._

* * *

The group moved cautiously down the trail, moving in a three-ring formation. Sakura, Ino, and Kurenai – the healers of the group – traveled in the center ring. The rest of the genin formed the middle ring and Kakashi occupied the out ring with Asuma and Jiraiya. The hilly terrain was slowly becoming more forested than open ground. As they crossed the initial tree line, Kakashi felt butterflies circling in his guts.

_It doesn’t make any sense; where the hell is he?_ Obito wouldn’t put in an appearance like last night unless he was planning something. The night he’d attacked the safehouse, Obito had gone for the dramatic, attacking the ANBU with flair. Even when he held Naruto hostage, he’d aimed for the dramatic, tossing the child while planning on impaling him.

Obito’s flair and arrogance had been his downfall that night, but now Kakashi surmised that was the point of last night. Everyone was exhausted, on edge, and prone to mistakes. Every rustling of leaves in the wind or wild animal shaking in a bush was a potential enemy. Obito wanted them to suffer, wanted them to be dull when he attacked a group this large. 

Kakashi spied the group. Kiba kept his dog, Akamaru, tucked in a pouch in his backpack, probably the only one of them properly rested. Sasuke put on a brave face, even managing a mild grin. Kakashi, knew better – the boy’s hands shook, knuckles turning white as he clutched a kunai in each hand. The other point of concern was Hinata. She had been using her Byakugan almost continuously since this morning, and she had not slept except for a short nap while Naruto had stood watch this morning. Darks circles of exhaustion pooled under her eyes, and her pale purple Byakugan was now almost sickly pale, with red spiderwebs tracing the rest of her eyes. 

Kakashi took several deep breaths, trying to center himself against exhaustion. They were almost to the fork in the road; soon they’d have to decide to take the woodland path or the river path – neither was particularly appealing. 

Hinata’s right hand shot up over her shoulder, in the hand signal to hold position. The formation stopped instantly. Kakashi scanned with his eyes and strained his ears. He heard nothing but the beating of his heart. There were not birds, no animals, not even wind. An uncomfortable sensation began stinging him in the left eye. Kakashi closed his eye firmly, only to open it with his Sharigan had activated.

Kakashi barely got his left arm up to block Obito’s Kunai as the other man appeared next to him, jabbing the Kunai toward Kakashi’s neck. Kakashi turned to follow up with a cross-punch, but Obito had vanished as Kakashi’s cut empty air! He sensed him coming again, and Kakashi turned, again blocking a lethal Kunai blow. This time, Obito didn’t disappear, instead ramming into Kakashi with his full body weight. Obito was not the skinny kid he’d been. _He’s pretty buff for a guy who should be dead twice over!_

Obito swung with a kunai in his left hand in a wide arc. As Kakashi blocked, he noticed no telltale scar along the man’s neck. Clearly, Obito had access to something that could regenerate extreme wounds. Any normal person would have lost use of their arm if they’d survived such a stab wound – Kakashi had severed the nerve plexus off the neck that supplied the entire left arm. 

Obito hit him with his right hand square in the chest, sending Kakashi flying backwards, but Kakashi managed to recoil and land on his feet. Kurenai, Asuma, Jiraiya, and the rest of the genin moved to assist, but Obito used an earth-release attack, sending a tremor through the ground. Everyone else was knocked off their feet. The temporary distraction gave Kakashi enough time to use a light release to charge several shuriken; however, Obito dodged the thrown weapons with impunity.

Obito again launched himself forward in a flurry of attacks; thanks to the Sharigan Obito had given him, Kakashi could at least predict the attacks enough to block them. However, his own return blows were almost equally useless as Obito blocked every attack before it was even launched.

As the team got back to their feet, Kakashi saw his opportunity. “Jiraiya! Get the kids out! GO!” he shouted, making a forward cross-kick toward Obito’s deformed face. Kakashi had initially worried Obito was after Naruto or Hinata, much the way he’d been after Kushina the last time. Thankfully, Obito seemed content with just trying to kill him. He breathed a short sigh of relief as he saw the group fleeing from the corner of his eye.

Any relief was soon dashed as Obito disappeared and reappeared behind him in a blink of an eye. Before he could move, Kakahsi felt Obito’s right arm around his neck in a chokehold, and he felt the sickly sensation of metal up and under his left ribcage in back. The cold sensation of death chilled Kakashi to his core; he almost threw up in his mask it had been so painful. A sick, sucking noise filled him as Obito withdrew the Kunai.

Kakashi, tried breaking free, but again he felt the kunai pierce his side, further forward this time. Kakahsi’s eyes became unfocused as he began to slip into shock. He had to move, had to stop the next one or Obito would kill him! While his mind was acutely away of this, the rest of him failed to react. Kakashi watched in slow motion as Obito’s left hand traced an arc that would end with the Kunai piercing Kakashi’s heart.

“GAHHHH!!!” Obito left out a shout of alarm and shook violently. Kakashi felt the man’s grip weakening, and he turned and rammed his right elbow first into the Obito’s solar plexus before winding up again and driving the point of his elbow into Obito’s ribs, breaking at least two of them with sickening _CRACK!_

Obito shoved Kakashi away toward a nearby tree. Kakashi nearly rammed the tree face-first, but he managed to stop himself. “You rotten little brat!” he heard Obito yell as he kicked a familiar blonde-haired boy backwards. Obito limped for a minute, and Kakashi again charged lighting-release, squarely punching his opponent squarely across the jaw with enough intensity to send the man through a nearby tree. Completely spent, Kakashi leaned against a nearby tree. 

* * *

Naruto heard the order, “Jiraiya! Get the kids out! GO!” There was a tugging at his collar as Jiraiya dragged Naruto away from the scene of the battle. The others followed suit, but he couldn’t turn his eyes away. Naruto could only watch in horror as Obito disappeared and reappeared behind Kakashi, stabbing a Kunai in his back and side.

“Uncle Kakashi!!!” Naruto screamed as he broke free from his grandfather’s grip. Naruto sprinted faster than he ever knew possible back up the trail. He could see Obito winding up for a killing stroke. Naruto skidded the last several feet, driving one of the kunai his father had given him into the back of his enemy’s left leg. 

“GAHHHH!” Obito shouted as Naruto jerked the blade back and forth, severing muscle and tendon alike. Naruto was rewarded with an expanding torrent of red spilling from his enemy’s leg. A short scuffle, and Kakashi was free. He had saved his uncle!

Naruto’s triumph was short lived, as the wound closed itself before his eyes with a disgusting sucking noise. The retracted wad of muscle and tendon reformed under the skin like an alien creature burrowing in the man’s leg. _Not possible!_ The man recoiled back with the leg, punting Naruto backwards. “You rotten little brat!” Obito hissed as Naruto felt himself smash into a tree trunk. Tiny red stars exploded in the field of Naruto’s vision. 

Obito was walking slowly toward him, brandishing a kunai in his sickly pale right hand. Before Naruto could get back up to fight, Obito had his left hand around his neck, choking him. Obito came eye to eye with him, “I’m going to do what I should have done the day you were born, you little shit!”

Naruto expected to be staring at his heart beating in the man’s hand momentarily. His life flashed, thinking of his parents, of Kakashi, of Hinata. He couldn’t leave them, refused to leave them! Naruto lashed out with something he’d scarcely felt before. The burst of strength sent Obito staggering backwards. Naruto’s body burned feverishly – Nine-Tails was taking control. 

Normally, Naruto was scared to even try tapping the immense chakra Kyuubi presented. Mom, Dad, and Kakashi made it abundantly clear he was still too young to unlock Kurama’s full potential. However, this was beyond normal circumstances. The man or whatever it was standing before him had tried killing, had tried killing Uncle Kakashi and his parents, and had killed Lord Third’s wife – his friend’s grandmother. Nothing in his conventional arsenal of weapons or ninjutsu would have any effect. If there was a time or place to unleash his primal anger, here and now was it!

Fiery chakra swirled around Naruto, and his field for vision turned a violent shade of red. The smell of Obito’s blood filled his nostrils. It made him thirsty, and hungry. He snarled as teeth morphed into jagged fangs and fingernails extended into fine pointed claws. “Come and get some, you ugly son of a bitch!” Kurama growled through him, latching onto his hatred of the man that had ruined his family’s future, had permanently disabled his mom, robbed him of the chance of being a big brother, and forced him to become a jinchuriki at an age far too young! 

Naruto charged at the man, full fury. Obito tried skipping time and space, but Naruto nailed him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the man with a loud “OOOFFFFF!!!” Naruto kept pounding the ground with his feet, ramming his target through one tree, another, and another, building steam off each impact. Kurama took control and swiftly kicked Obito where his manhood would be; the pasty white demon went flying out of view.

Kurama roared through Naruto, pleased to have been off the chain. Deep down, Naruto was horrified. _Oh my god! I can’t stop it!!!_ Kurama’s chakra continued to burn throughout Naruto’s body. _“Now then, my child, let’s have fun with this group!”_

Naruto began running toward his friends, all petrified by his sinister appearance. He managed to slow himself, but he couldn’t hold back Kyuubi’s murderous intent. _“Stop it Kyuubi!!! PLEASE!!!”_ Tears began streaming from Naurto’s eyes at the thought of hurting anyone.

_“Why should I stop now!”_ The voiced echoed in his head. _“Time for me to be rid of you and the girl!”_

Fear filled Naruto. _“Hinata! NO!!!”_ He had taken the gamble trying to save Kakashi only to sacrifice the whole group to a monster. Now he was going to pay for his lack of foresight. Naruto charged at the group, Hinata dead in his sights.

“Naruto-kun, please stop!” her gentle voice cried. She slowly stepped in front of the group. Naruto’s heart froze at the words, as did his charging legs. Restraining Kyuubi was taking everything he had; muscle cramps squeezed his legs painful as he fought for control of his body. “Please, come back to us!” she walked closer to him.

“Hi…Hinata!... RUN!!!” he heaved, unable to hold much longer.

“Please, come back!” she pleaded, her hand touching his shoulder. Kyuubi’s strength began to dissipate, but it was still holding him under its control. Kyuubi lashed at Hinata with Naruto’s left hand. Miraculously, she caught the intended strike in her hand. Tears were streaming from her eyes. “Naruto… please… come back!”

Like a candle blowing out in a high wind, the glowing chakra around him extinguished. Naruto regained his sense of self-control. He also regained the sense of sharp pain in his foot from punting Obito into the stratosphere. The pain radiated up his leg, fighting with exhaustion for attention. Exhaustion won as he collapsed forward into Hinata’s arms.

* * *

“Naruto! Can you hear me?” Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of Hinata staring down at him. She gently caressed the side of his face, causing his lips to involuntarily curl into a smile. It felt great. At first, he thought he’d overslept in camp, but soon the memories flashed in his head. “Hinata…” he said, embarrassed, “I-I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be,” she smiled, a few tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

“I don’t know, maybe we should make him sorry for doing something that stupid,” Grandpa Jiraiya’s voice was salty. “Seriously kiddo, you and I have to have a major heart to heart about doing dumb shit like tapping into a tailed-beast’s chakra when you’re clearly not ready for it!” Jiraiya pointed a finger at Hinata, “And you, young lady! You realized how close you just came to dying? Do you have any idea how much of an ass-ripping I’d get from Kushina and your mom if something had happened?!”

“You forgot Granny Tsunade, Grandpa Jiraiya!” Naruto reminded him.

Jiraiya grinned thinly; Naruto knew it was for show. He had been concerned but wasn’t anywhere near as furious as he pretended to be. “Yes, there is her, too,” he nodded. “And yet somehow, you managed to save Kakashi in all of this,” he grinned larger, “which sadly means he’s obliged not to punish you both too badly for being monumentally stupid… something we call brave.”

“If it’s all the same,” Kakashi approached, “I suggest we refrain from doing that again any time soon.” Kakashi looked awful -- bruises complimented dark circles under his eyes. At least the large cuts in his side had been healed by Ino or Sakura. 

Naruto sat up slowly, the sensation of having someone cracking his skull with teaspoon followed him up. “What happened to Obito?”

“You punted him somewhere out into the woods, kid!” Jiraiya explained, “He’s probably halfway to the Village Hidden in the Sands by now!”

Kakashi shook his head, “I wouldn’t bet on him giving up so easily.”

“But Kakashi, no one could get up after that!” Naruto protested, “Could they?” The thought of Obito surviving such a powerful strike, much less coming back for round two made a chill crawl down Naruto’s spine.

“I almost cut his head off once, Naruto! I cut through his neck muscles and the nerves to his left arm, and he regenerated like nothing happened.”

“And I cut his calf muscles and achilles tendon clean through, but they regenerated right in front of me!” Naruto again felt a chill and his bladder tightening. “Nobody can do that though; that’s crazy!”

“Nobody alive, at least,” Jiraiya commented.

Hinata’s eyes met Naruto’s and both shot bold open at the suggestion. “Are-are you saying,” Hinata stammered, “He’s some kind of a yokai or something?!”

“Or something,” Kakashi said, extending a hand to Naruto, “Can you stand because I really don’t want to sit around waiting for him to come back.”

Naruto got to his feet with Kakashi and Hinata’s aid. “So, what now?” he asked.

“Well, now we put your little theory to the test,” Kakashi said. “If we go deeper into the forest, there’s a strong chance we’ll run back into Obito, especially since you sent him flying in the direction we were planning on going. So, we’re taking the river path!”

Naruto felt a pang of regret. He wished Dad could just teleport in and rush them all home immediately. Naruto wanted to go to sleep in his bed, enjoy Mom’s cooking, or even just cup ramen right now in the safety of his own bedroom. _Stop thinking that way! You’re a ninja now!_ “Okay, the river path it is!” Naruto reminded himself that this was his first mission. He had met every requirement but returning to the village safely after five days. He wasn’t about to let some pasty-white freak of nature ruin his first mission.

“You sure you’re up for this, son?” Jiraiya asked. “It’s going to be a pretty dangerous path.”

Naruto responded the only way he knew how. He raised his thumb and winked at his grandfather, “Believe it!”


	20. Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Hinata’s eyes felt like they were ready to melt out of their sockets they were so strained. Merely activating her Byakugan was now outright painful on top of the now constant vice-grip headache around her skull. _Damned if I do; dead if I don’t._ The group was spread out in a long line formation due to the narrow nature of the sloping path. Currently, Sasuke, and Kiba, were on rearguard duty; Kakashi and Shino were slightly ahead of the main body. Hinata decided to make the most of it while things were safe and give her Byakugan a rest while she could.

She looked out over the edge of the bluff toward the river. Under normal circumstances, the afternoon sun painting the landscape and river below autumn orange would be breathtaking. _This would be a perfect picnic spot with Naruto someday._ Turning her head further right, she saw Naruto, still pleasing to the eye if looking a bit haggard. Aside from brooding since they started hiking again, Naruto had clear signs of burnout: dark, puffy circles under his eyes, a walking gait that varied from normal to meandering, and he was sniffling like he was getting a cold. Hinata wasn’t much better; her sinuses were pressing into her eyes and her mouth was dry with thirst despite the river a hundred feet below. Hopefully, they’d have a chance to fill their canteens again near the bottom of the trail. 

_Even better if we could get home tonight and all sleep in a real bed!_ She didn’t mind roughing it in camp, but five days without a shower or a real bed was a bit much for her. Even worse, the air temperature was dropping at night. When she’d awoke this morning, there had been frost on the ground. The sleeping bag she brought was only rated to freezing; last night made Hinata wonder how accurate that rating was.

The march continued, and boredom set it in for Hinata. Everyone was lumbering like cattle and seeing Naruto this glum was starting to weigh on her. “Na-Naruto-kun?” she spoke.

“Yeah,” he replied, mood not improving.

“You seem…” she paused looking for a word that wouldn’t set him off, “…preoccupied. Is-is everything all right?”

“I’m fine, Hinata, I just…” he sighed, “…I just have the whole party treating me like a leper since rescuing Kakashi!” Naruto dipped his head. Hinata knew the feeling. After her outburst with Hanabi, everyone in the clan avoided her like she was carrying a contagious disease. Throughout most of her childhood, she’d never fully grasped why her parents, Aunt Kushina, and Uncle Minato made such a big deal about hiding the fact Naruto and she were jinchuriki. Now things were abundantly clear. Even old friends like Choji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru were keeping a mild increase in distance from Naruto. While Jiraiya and Kakashi knew for sure; Hinata was unsure if Asuma or Kurenai knew. Strangely she could empathize with the others being scared. _Hell, I’m scared of myself, and I can only guess what Naruto is feeling!_

Hinata began feeling her senses sharpen. An odd sound began filling her left ear, fizzing, like an open ramune bottle. Hinata immediately reactivated her Byakugan to see several nearby rocks with explosive tags about to detonate! “COVER!!!” She wrestled Naruto to the ground as the tags exploded, pelting the group with a shower of rock fragments.

Incessant ringing filled Hinata’s head when she got her eyes open again. She and Naruto were both intwined right near the cliff’s end. _GET UP! GET UP!_ It took only a moment, but she got her Byakugan back up and focused. Kurenai, Asuma, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Ino were both flat on the ground, injured; but their chakra signatures were intact. Choji was bleeding from several minor wounds, having used a body transformation to shield Kakashi, Shino, Jiraiya, and himself from the worst of the blast. Even still, Shino, Kakashi, and Jiraiya were now bleeding from headwounds. 

Hinata saw Obito strike as expected from behind. Kiba and Akamaru were visibly uninjured, but still stunned by the effect of the blast wave. Despite bleeding profusely from a forehead wound, Sasuke did manage to get his arms up to block Obito’s first strike. Hinata could see the boy’s eyes glowing red with his Sharigan. Sasuke managed to predict Obito’s next attack, some kind of powerful lightning release, in time to try blocking it. Obito blasted straight through Sasuke’s defense, the bright flash almost blinding Hinata. The blast of the attack threw Sasuke backwards over Kiba and into the rock wall nearby. 

Hinata felt Obito’s focus lock onto Naruto. Hinata pulled three shuriken from her jacket pocket, estimating the man’s three likely approaches. In rapid succession he began running toward her carefully laid trap. She threw a shuriken toward his center mass and darted the other two like lightning toward either path of evasion.

It was a great plan until Obito appeared to warp ahead of the spiraling blades. _SHIT!!!_ The blades whistled harmlessly past into the path. Obito on the other hand, warped right in front of her, his backhand strike clocked her across the face like a wooden club. Hinata staggered into the rock wall nearby, red stars exploding in her field of vision. Dizzily, she watched Obito turn toward Naruto.

The man gripped Naruto around the neck and lifted him up like a chicken about to be slaughtered. _NARUTO!!!_ “You’re coming with me you little bastard!”

Naruto’s feet kicked ineffectively at first, but then Hinata saw something protruding from the front of his left shoe. A swift, focused, kick and Naruto drove the tip of a kunai hidden in his shoe beneath his foot into Obito’s pasty white chest. As Obito dropped Naruto, Naruto rammed the heel of his hand into the kunai’s handle piercing through where the man’s heart should be – the tip protruding out the back of his ribs.

“NOW HINATA!!!” Naruto screamed as he landed. Adrenaline surged through her sore, achy body, propelling her forward like a rocket. Hinata focused her chakra to a fine point and smashed into the first chakra point she could find; her hand burning from the impact. She wound up with another palm attack, striking lower in the abdomen. Obito groaned in agony. _So, you can get hurt after all!_ Hinata wound up for a third strike with her left arm when Obito’s right arm took on a life of its own.

The white demon arm sprung forward like a rattlesnake attacking. Before she could react, she was back to the stone wall again, the creature or whatever it was firmly wrapping around her neck, her bladder tightened in reaction to her impending death. _FIGHT BACK!!!_ Hinata sucked in what air she could, hoping she could react before it crushed her windpipe.

* * *

Naruto watched incredulously as the right side of Obito’s body reacted despite Hinata blocking his chakra in at least two points. _No one can do that!_ He watched the arm circle around her neck like some alien lifeform from science fiction, like the symbiote from the comics he read. _My god, could that really be it!_ The pieces clicked into place. Obito wasn’t just Obito, there was a second lifeform bonded with him. It had its own chakra network of immense power. _That’s how healed so quickly and can move so fast!_

“Drop your weapons, or the girl dies!!!” Obito, or at least whatever was bonded to him, spoke in a slimy, otherworldly tone. Naruto froze, trying to think for the life of him how to kill a symbiotic lifeform. _Acid, soundwaves… fire… FIRE!!!_ Naruto at least was pretty sure he had the answer, but it did no good. He couldn’t risk using Kyuubi again, and the only fire-release attack he knew was fire-breath – it was extremely short range to be effective.

“Wait! Let’s be reasonable!” Naruto signaled Jiraiya, Kakashi, Shino, and Choji not to approach. They froze.

“Fool, just like your father!” Obito’s face twisted as the left half of his body came back to life; the kunai gradually pushing itself backwards out of his chest. “Drop your weapons and surrender the fox to me, or I’ll crush this pretty little creature’s neck!”

There was no alternative. Naruto felt a kunai turning in his guts as he watched Hinata staring at the creature, hyperventilating whimpers shook the poor girl as she tried sucking in air through pursed lips. However, her eyes while wide did not seem to focus in panic. She waved the index and middle fingers of her right hand back and forth nervously. _Keep him distracted!_

Naruto recognized the signal and understood the plan. _Time to see if this guy’s junk still works after getting crushed!_ Naruto slowly raised both arms in surrender. “All right you freaky bastard, UNCLE!”

Obito’s voice became human again, “That’s a good boy! Now heel and drop your weapons, dog boy!”

Naruto grinned, “Gladly!” Naruto opened his hands, dropping the kunai he’d been clutching. He didn’t even wait for gravity to kick it as he moved his hand together for a transformation jutsu. In a flash of smoke, he’d changed into his sexy perverted jutsu transformation. He adopted a coy, provocative pose, blowing a kiss to Obito as Naruto caught the falling kunai between the toes of his right foot. “Come and get some, big boy!” he giggled in his best suggestive voice.

The effect was almost too good. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Choji, and Shino froze still with mouths agape, as did Obito. In Obito’s case, the right half of his face twisted with pleasure while the left half opened with shock.

Naruto, grinned as he saw Hinata’s stomach muscles contract. A blazing inferno shot from her lips and engulfed whatever pale lifeform was covering Obito, as well as his face. The inhuman part of Obito squealed loud enough to pierce Naruto’s eardrums.

Unfortunately, the creature flung Hinata toward the edge of the cliff. Naruto exited his transformation and turned to run toward her, “HINATA!!!”

The ground beneath Naruto’s feet quaked, and the rocky edge of the cliff collapsed under Hinata. He heard her scream as gravity pulled her from sight like an unseen river monster! “HINATA!!!” Naruto screamed as he leapt forward over the edge. Naruto swan dived through open space towards her, catching up as the rocks and the river below grew rapidly closer.

He got his arms around her and made the gesture needed; dozens of shadow clones formed beneath them to cushion their fall. Naruto rolled to take the brunt of the impact. Unfortunately, he’d miscalculated how far they had fallen, and they hit the clones with a sickening body slap in Naruto’s right side. There was a sharp pain, like someone had stuck one on his mom’s knitting needles through his right ribs and all the way up until it exited out the bottom of his neck below the ear. A loud _POP_ followed as the shadow clones disintegrated. 

Another loud slap hit him, and all sound was replaced with the rushing noise of water. Naruto couldn’t hold air in, and he sucked in lungsful of water. Panic gripped him and his bladder let go. The current rolled him like a crocodile clutching him in a death rattle. _This is it, I’m going to die!_ The light in his vision began fading, as did the sound of the water.

Hinata took the landing badly as the shadow clones collapsed. Her left ankle had impacted something solid, more solid than she was, and there was a sickening crunch followed by searing pain that shot up from her foot all the way to her left hip. She screamed out in pain as she felt the slap of the river hitting her in the face. 

As she shook loose from her dizziness, she breached the surface, searing pain temporarily dulled by the flow of adrenaline and the sensation of freezing water. _Naruto!_ She hadn’t known when they separated, but it couldn’t have been too long. Her arms and her right leg thankfully still worked as she paddled on the surface, trying to flow with the current. Hinata shunted aside the pain of using her Byakugan again, and she spotted Naruto, bobbing up and down below the surface, the contents of his back being scattered to the current. “NARUTO!!!” she screamed as she paddled toward him. 

She felt little of the telltale resistance of her own load as she approached. Between the impact and the raging current, most of her pack’s contents were either spilled in the river or were about to. As Hinata fought her way to Naruto, she debated about cutting the rest of her load loose – deciding against it. While Naruto’s bedroll was gone, Hinata’s clung stubbornly to what was left of her pack. _This_ _water is frigid, and it’s going to be a cold night! Having the sleeping bag may be the difference between life and death if we can dry it out._

She reached Naruto, seeing his chakra network pulsating an unhealthy red. She approached him from behind and wrapped her left arm around him while using her good side to propel the two of them to the surface. She took several deep, heaving breaths as she surfaced. To her horror, Naruto wasn’t breathing. “Naruto! Can you hear me!!!” she screamed; he flopped lifelessly in her arms. The current was now letting up a bit to the point that she could steer them toward an approaching patch of low-lying forest. 

The tickling of slimy water plants along her left leg sent a shock up her leg. They had to get ashore. Furiously she used her right side to paddle toward the shallows until she felt the muddy bottom drag along her on her side. The current pulled, and the mud sucked, but she managed to get Naruto and herself out of the water and onto the coarse silt of the shore. 

Hinata frantically laid Naruto on his back, his eyes glassed over, staring lifelessly at the sky. _NononononononoNO!!!!_ “Naruto!” she shook him, trying to remember how to resuscitate a drowning victim. _ABC’s, idiot! Airway, Breathing, and Circulation! Get to it!_

Hinata leaned her face next to Naruto, definitely not breathing. She knelt next to him, fighting the childbirth like pain of resting her left knee and foot on the ground. _Ignore it, it’s worth losing the leg if it means saving him!_ Hinata tilted his head back, a quick visual inspecting showed his airway was clear. Her fingers scouted along his neck, desperately searching for a pulse. _Faint and weakening, hurry!_

Hinata braced Naruto’s head in a tilted position, pinched his nose, and brought her mouth to his. Two quick breaths in, she could see his chest rise and fall. _Lock my elbows, firm downward pressure on the breastbone, avoid the xiphoid, and please don’t be dead!!!_ Hinata began pressing down firmly, trying to pump his heart. “Come on, Naruto! Breathe, dammit!!!” Hinata felt the heavy weight of reality set in as she pumped Naruto’s chest – if he didn’t recover soon, he wouldn’t at all. 

A sudden sputtering and gurgling erupted from Naruto as his eyes focused. Water, foam, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose as he heaved like a sink drain being unplugged. He rolled away from her onto his left side, purging foul liquid for several moments. He soon began heaving and whimpering in pain as he sucked in air.

“Naruto! Hold still!” She tried to stop him from writhing, fearful that he might hurt himself further. Naruto took several pained breaths, clutching his right side. Hinata focused her Byakugan; Naruto had at least three broken ribs on his right side, he was trying to purge what still looked like a decent amount of fluid in his lungs, and his right shoulder was dislocated.

A cool blast of fall air cut Hinata to the bone. Her teeth chattered as the adrenaline rush was replaced with the cool, numbing toothache-like pain radiating up and down her left leg. She gritted her teeth tightly. A quick inspection showed nothing broken, but she could already see fluid building up in both her knee and ankle – both would be double normal size before long. _He can’t breathe; I can’t walk. What a pair we make._

She flopped back into the cool mud, watching the orange sky slowly turning purple and midnight blue. Every part of her wanted to just lay here and not move ever again. As she shivered, Hinata fought against marble limbs for movement. _Get up! Move or you’re going to DIE!!!_ Hinata recognized the signs of hypothermia all too well. They had to get out of the mud, dry off, and get warmed. Even if they didn’t succumb to hypothermia, they’d be useless when the others found them. She wasn’t about to be a burden to her team. “Naruto,” she whimpered as she struggled to her side. 

“H-Hinata!” Naruto winced as he spoke, his body shivering uncontrollably, “Th-thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet!” she grabbed his right arm, feeling a pang of guilt at what she was about to do, “This is going to hurt a lot!” A solid tug before he reacted, and there was the disgusting sensation of the joint sucking itself back in place. Naruto screeched in high-pitched agony, clutching his right side. “Na-Naruto-kun! It will pass in a minute!” Hinata wished she’d had more medical-nin training, but all she had was the basic course everyone got at the academy.

Naruto heaved shallow breaths through tears streaming down his eyes. Using his left arm, he propped himself up. His outfit was now caked in mud, as was the left side of his face. Naruto took several difficult breaths and tested his right arm. Satisfied it wouldn’t dislocate again, he tried standing. He stumbled but stayed upright. “Can you walk?” he eyed her with concern.

“I-I can’t,” Hinata paused mid-thought. She wanted to tell him it was impossible to walk, but that was giving up without trying, “I can’t get up unaided,” she compromised, reaching an arm out to him. Naruto assisted her upright. She hopped on her good leg before testing the left one – the left buckled immediately. “AHHHH!!!” she screeched as she withdrew pressure from the leg, again hopping on the right. _Useless!!! Useless girl!!!_

Tears of pain and self-hate spilled down her face as the harsh reality hit her – she was useless to him! While the others might be looking for them, they were on their own for now. They were in a survival situation; no help would be coming for some time. She was his partner, his backup, and they were now both potentially going to die because she couldn’t walk! “Naruto, leave me!” she cried. “I’ll only weigh you down!”

“Not happening!” Naruto said as he brought her right arm around his shoulders, wincing as he took hold of her arm with his right. He braced into her side tightly, wrapping his left arm around her waist. “Come on, Hinata, we have to get a camp set up and a fire started!” They limped and hopped toward the tree line. 


End file.
